Lovers and Friends
by LifeIChose
Summary: I guess when you get drunk and have sex at a party, you do have to deal with it eventually. Brooke and Nathan learn this the hard way as they try to deal with the repurcussions from their sex tape. BN.
1. The Worst Day Since Yesterday

**Lovers and Friends**

Disclaimer: _I do not own anything_.

Author's Note: _Takes place after Season 4, Episode 15. Follows along a bit with the Season Four but I have changed some things. Most important change is that Haley lost the baby after being hit by Dante. Other things might also be different because I have not been following season 4 religiously._

Brooke Davis groaned as she rolled over to hit the ringing alarm clock. She winced as the previous night's events came rushing back to her; the party at Nathan's house, the sex tape and all their friends present. She could still feel the pain from the punch that Peyton had thrown her and she winced as she gingerly brought her fingers up to her right eye. But that wasn't what hurt the most. What she could remember clearly and most painfully was how everyone had looked at her. Brooke Davis had done a lot of things in her life which she was not proud of. She was used to dirty looks and her actions being fodder for the gossip mill. She was okay with her mistakes because deep down she knew that she was a good person and that those who mattered to her knew it too. Last night everyone had looked at her like she was scum and seeing herself on the television screen, having sex with her best-friend at the time's ex-boyfriend, she felt much worse than scum. Brooke slowly rolled out of bed and walked towards the mirror. She sighed when she saw her black eye. Today was not going to be a good day.

"Haley, open up." Nathan Scott pleaded to his wife as he sat outside their bedroom door which he had occupied for the better part of the morning. He sighed and leaned his head against the wall in frustration. Haley had not spoken to him since the sex tape had emerged the night before. He knew and understood why she was angry but he thought that she was going a little too far. He rubbed his hands over his tired face and continued waiting. Nathan knew that it was not just about the tape. Things with his wife had not been right since she had lost the baby. Becoming involved with Dante to ensure the outcome of the basketball games had been a horrible mistake. She was trying to forgive him for the part he had played in her miscarriage but he knew forgiveness had not quite come yet. She had said that she had forgiven him and he had started to believe it. That is why they had thrown the party; to relax like kids and forget all the troubles of the past few months. Judging from Haley's silence in the bedroom, Nathan knew that their troubles were far from over. He leapt up when she suddenly emerged from the bedroom and followed her as she tried to stomp past him, her boot making it difficult for her to do so. He was caught off guard when she whirled around and asked "Why didn't you tell me about Brooke ever? Did you really just not want to ruin the surprise of me seeing it on tape in front of our entire class?"

Nathan was surprised that she was talking to him and he struggled to answer quickly. "I didn't tell you because it happened a long time ago and it didn't mean anything."

"If it didn't mean anything then why did you put it on tape? And why do you keep the tape? Do you like use it?" She countered.

"No!" Nathan exclaimed sincerely. "I forgot I even had it. I didn't tell you because it happened before I even met you. I didn't think it would do any good to bring up the past."

Haley leaned her hands on the counter. "You know this is just the worst time for this to happen."

Nathan nodded. "I know."

"It's prom tomorrow and you and I are supposed to go and have the best night together and I can't even look at you right now."

"What can I do to make this up to you Haley? I know I've screwed up a lot lately but I love you and I want to make tomorrow perfect for you."

Tears welled up in Haley's eyes and she spared a quick glance at Nathan. "I think it is too late for perfect." Her hands moved unconsciously to her stomach and Nathan felt a lump form in his throat.

"I've got to go. I promised Brooke," she spat out the name bitterly and paused "that I would help her decorate for prom."

Nathan could only watch helplessly as Haley walked away. He brought down his hand on the counter and sent one of the many bottles on the table flying. He surveyed the mess from the party and groaned. Today was not going to be a good day.


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of these characters.

**Author's Note**: This story is going to contain a lot of couples: NH, LP, BL and BN. It is, however, going to ultimately be a Brooke and Nathan story. It might seem to take a while to get there but I want to write this couple into this storyline while still remaining as true to the characters as possible. Please Review.

After showering and getting dressed, Brooke was hoping that she would feel better but all she wanted was to crawl under the covers and hide. The last thing she wanted was to go to school where she was bound to see at least one of her friends. Brooke winced as she thought about coming to face with Nathan, Haley, Peyton or Lucas. She was not even sure that she could call anyone that had seen the tape her friend anymore. Since she had no real choice but to go and help decorate for the prom that she was organizing, Brooke decided to at least postpone the inevitable while improving her appearance by icing her black eye. As Brooke held a bag of peas to her eye, Lucas Scott popped into the kitchen. At the same time, Rachel who was getting ready to leave for school came into the kitchen from the bedroom.

"Did you not see enough of Brooke last night or are you here for the deleted scenes?" Rachel asked Lucas.

Brooke glared at Rachel who smiled back sweetly before heading out the door.

Brooke sighed. She supposed she could not really be angry at the red head as she was taking the blame for stealing the calculus test and was about to go face the consequences. She glanced over at Lucas apprehensively as she wondered what he was doing at her house first thing in the morning. She faced him as she readied herself for her first fight of the day. She waited for the first insult and was surprised when he said, "How are you holding up?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "I never meant for it to happen. I was just really drunk and Peyton broke up with Nathan and did I mention I was like really really drunk."

Lucas chuckled and Brooke looked up at the sound surprised at how good natured Lucas was being. Perhaps Peyton was not as mad as she had been the previous night. "How mad is she?" she dared to ask.

Lucas hesitated, "Yeah she was still pretty upset when I left her last night."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. Lucas had come to see her before seeing Peyton? They had been barely speaking since their break up and she was sure that after seeing the tape the night before that the barely would turn into never speaking unless it was him hurling insults at her. Hadn't the tape just proved what he had always thought about her, that she wasn't good enough?

"I am really sorry Lucas. Not just about what I did which of course I am so sorry about but also that you had to see it."

Lucas shrugged. "I'm not going to lie and say that seeing you and my brother having sex didn't hurt but I didn't know you back then Brooke. I can't be mad at who you used to be. I know that the person you are now would never do something like that."

Brooke felt like she might start crying so she turned away from Lucas so that he would not see the tears forming in her eyes. It amazed her that Lucas could sometimes be so kind yet the same boy who could show such grace in seemingly unforgivable situations could also so easily break her heart. "Thank you Lucas," she whispered.

Lucas looked at her back and could tell from her voice and the way she was avoiding his gaze that something was wrong. He wanted to say something to comfort her but sensed that was not something he could provide so he said, "Hey, it could be worse. You could be Nathan right now."

"Nathan!" Brooke exclaimed when she saw him heading up the steps to Rachel's front door as she exited the house. Lucas had departed a hour earlier and even though his forgiveness had given her a bit of courage, she wasn't sure that everyone else would be quite so forgiving. The last person she was expecting to see was standing in front of her and Brooke braced herself again for a confrontation.

"That really did happen? I always pretended like it was a bad dream," Brooke said as she closed the door behind her.

"It happened." Nathan's voice was cool and it sparked a bit of anger in Brooke. Nathan was one person who did not have a right to be mad at her. He was the one who had kept the tape and it was not her fault if Haley was mad at him.

"I guess it is easier for you to remember it 'cause you have it taped and you can watch it over and over again," she hissed and walked past him.

Nathan shook his head and followed her. " I never watched the tape Brooke. I didn't even know it was still around. I just destroyed it this morning."

"Great," Brooke muttered sarcastically. "That's gonna help everyone not see it."

"I'm know. I'm sorry." He sounded sincere and Brooke relaxed. Nathan was clearly not there to pick a fight.

"It's not all your fault Nate. I mean my memory of that night is hazy at best but I'm pretty positive that you didn't have a gun up to my head." She remembered Lucas's words and realized that Nathan was probably in worse shape than she was 'cause he had more to lose. Nathan was married to one of her best friends and the last thing that the young couple needed was more stress on their marriage. "How's Haley?"

"She isn't taking this so well. I spent the night apologizing to the bedroom door and when she finally did come out, it was just to tell me that she was going to decorate for prom." He paused as he realized that the girl he was talking to was supposed to be organizing the prom. "Hey, why aren't you there?"

Brooke smiled sheepishly. "Because Haley's there and Peyton's there and I'm going to avoid seeing them until the last possible second."

Nathan lips turned up as he thought about Brooke's strategy of dealing with the fallout from their tape. It seemed like the approach that he would usually take as Brooke was usually not one to shy away from confrontations. "To be fair though," Nathan thought. "She already had a big confrontation last night. At least I didn't get punched in the eye."

"Well I better go make my rounds. I got a lot of apologizing to do today," he said.

Brooke nodded. "Okay. I'll tell her you came by."

Nathan shook his head quickly as he pictured Haley's reaction to finding out that he had gone to see the girl she had just seen him having sex with. "No don't. Please."

Brooke laughed as she understood his hesitation. She went to touch his arm in a gesture of understanding and comfort then remembering why they were both in a tough place with all their friends, she let her hand drop.

Nathan noticed the action and also backed away. It was strange that last night, he had been chasing her around the sprinklers and carrying her around without a care in the world but now they could not even touch without it being awkward. "Anyway like I said. I'm sorry."

Brooke stuck her hands in her pockets now uncomfortable with what to do with them. "Yeah, me too. I guess when you get drunk and have sex at a party you do have to deal with it eventually."

As Brooke watched Nathan walk away, she thought, Maybe this day won't be so bad after all. Both Lucas and Nathan had been surprisingly kind.

When Nathan got into car, he took a deep breath and readied himself for his next stop. His apology to Brooke had gone much better than he had expected but he understood that while he had felt better while talking to Brooke than he has since the tape first came on the night before that everyone else would not be quite so understanding. He looked out the window and up at the patio at Brooke who was still standing there. He could make out a faint smile on Brooke's face and he frowned. He hoped that Brooke understood what she was about face. This was just the calm before the storm.


	3. The Past Is Alive and Well

**Disclaimer**: _I don't own these characters_.

**A/N**: _Please Read and Review. Thanks to those who reviewed before. Knowing that there is some interest in the story definitely helps the writing process. _

As soon as Brooke walked into the school, the bravery that she had summoned after her talk with Nathan wavered as she realized that she was about to face both of the people who were probably most hurt by the tape. She saw a guy walking by with balloons and attempted to hide behind them as she looked around for any sign of either Peyton or Haley. She was so busy looking around that she did not notice that the guy with the balloons had disappeared and she was now standing in front of a very angry looking Haley. Immediately Brooke realized that this was not going to go as well as it had with Lucas and Nathan.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said meekly.

Haley scoffed. "That's what you're apologizing for?"

"I'm sorry about the other thing too but you have to already know that."

"Really Brooke? Were you ever going to tell me about Nathan?" Haley questioned.

Brooke considered it then said, "Honestly no. I didn't even know you back then Haley. Besides when would I have brought it up?"

At that moment Bevin appeared at Brooke's side. "You really shouldn't be so upset. Nathan used to hook up with everyone," she said.

Brooke sighed. "Bev," but the flighty cheerleader had already walked away. She turned to look at Haley who was looking even madder than she had a couple of minutes earlier. "Haley I know that you don't want to think of Nathan with anyone else but Bevin was trying to be nice. Nathan did sleep with everyone. That night did not mean anything to either one of us."

"How can you think knowing that Nathan slept with everyone is going to make feel better?"

"Because I want you to understand how life was for Nathan back then," Brooke explained. "He used to an ass and sex didn't mean anything to him. Nathan and I may have slept with a lot of people but we have both each only loved one. You made Nathan a better person Haley just like loving Lucas helped me become a better person."

Haley seemed to be considering Brooke's words and for a second Brooke thought that she may have gotten through to the other girl but then Haley spoke. "You and Nathan think you can just wipe the slate clean on everything bad that you have ever done but that's not the way life works. The past is alive and well Brooke and it is affecting all of us now. Seeing how you and Nathan used to be makes me realize that maybe I actually don't really know you two at all." With those words, Haley walked away.

"Hello?" Nathan called out as he entered his house. He had spent the morning making his rounds of apologies, heading to Peyton's after leaving Brooke's. He hadn't even talked to Peyton as the blonde had answered the door only to say, "Asshole" before slamming the door in his face. He had thought about knocking again but had decided to give her some time to cool down. After that he had gone to see Lucas who had been a lot more calm and forgiving.

"_Are you mad about the tape_?" _Nathan asked his brother_.

"_At first I was relieved it wasn't Peyton. Then when it sunk in that it was Brooke, I just sort of felt numb. I mean I can't be mad. Brooke and I aren't together anymore and you and I weren't really brothers back then but…_"

"_But what_?" _Nathan pressed_.

"_But it hurt a lot Nathan. Maybe more than it should have_," _Lucas admitted._

_Nathan was unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry man."_

_Lucas shrugged. "Like I said, I can't be mad. Besides I already knew you were an ass," he tried to joke._

_Nathan laughed and the tension was eased._

Nathan was still thinking about his conversation with Lucas as he entered the house. Lucas had told him that Haley would call down, that all she needed was time but when he saw Haley sitting on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face, Nathan realized that obviously not enough time had passed.

"Hey," he greeted apprehensively.

"I saw Brooke today," Haley stated.

Nathan knew he needed to tread carefully. "Oh?"

"She thinks that I should forgive both of you because what happened was in the past," Haley continued. "I thought about that a lot after seeing her and I realized that I can't. You don't get a free pass to hurt people because time has passed since you did something horrible."

"I know," Nathan agreed. "I can't take back what I've done in the past Haley but I think I have learned from my mistakes and I am a better person now because of you."

"Are you?" Haley asked.

"What? Of course I am. I would never do to you what I did to Peyton."

Haley laughed, a short bitter laugh and she stood up to face him. "The thing is Nathan that I'm not so sure. You keep messing up. It's either some secret of yours from the past that we thought that was buried that's actually not or you are making a new mistake."

Nathan was so shocked that Haley would even think that he could cheat on her that he asked without thinking, "Like what mistake?" As soon as the words were out of this mouth, he regretted them as he remembered the biggest mistake he had just made. He was so focused on the sex tape situation and his sexual mistakes that he wasn't thinking of the mistake that he had recently committed.

"Like what mistake?" Haley repeated in disbelief. "You got involved in point shaving and almost got me killed. I didn't know that my life and our son's was so unimportant that you could forget killing our child."

Haley's angry statement cut right into Nathan as he processed her words. _Killing our child_. The harshness of the words rendered him speechless and he could only stare at Haley in shock.

Haley seemed to realize what she had said as her face softened in regret but she did not retract her words. "I don't think I should be talking to you right now. I'm going to go." She grabbed her bag and jacket and hobbled away. It wasn't until the door shut that Nathan sunk down to the couch, his eyes filled with tears as his wife's words rung in his ears.


	4. The Wrath of Peyton Sawyer

**The Wrath of Peyton Sawyer**

**A/N: **_Please Review. And if someone could please tell me how they are able to separate between different parts in the story, I would appreciate it. I do lines in between different sections of the chapter on MS Word but when I upload the story, it doesn't show up. This has been driving me crazy so I would appreciate any help___

Brooke had successfully avoided Peyton for the better part of the morning and was busy working on some decorations when she spotted the blonde approaching from the side.

"Duck," Peyton said as she patted a girl's head on her way to Brooke. "Duck," she repeated as she made her way done the line of girls working on decorating alongside Brooke, patting each on the head as well. "Bitch!" she said when it was Brooke's turn.

Brooke resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the childish behaviour of the girl who during their friendship had always been the deep and mature one. Instead of starting a war with a derisive comment about Peyton's behaviour, Brooke chose to attempt peace instead. "Peyton, I am so sorry. I don't know what else I can say."

"You can say 'punch me in the face again Peyton. I deserve it.'" Peyton replied.

Clearly the other girl was not ready to make peace and this time Brooke did roll her eyes. "Okay. You are not exactly perfect here either."

"Oh that's right. You cut me out of your life for kissing Lucas when you had screwed Nathan behind my back." Peyton's voice got louder with each word she said and Brooke found herself yelling back.

"And you guys were broken up!"

Peyton shook her head. "Keep telling yourself that but you are a back stabbing whore and you know it."

Brooke stood there, unable to come up with a retort as Peyton threw back the same words that Brooke had used with her when Peyton confessed her feelings for Lucas.

Peyton took her silence as a sign of victory and turned around to walk away. She smiled cruelly when she saw Chase standing there. "Have fun with your cheating girl friend."

Brooke watched Peyton's retreating back then as the words that Peyton had just said to Chase sunk in, she looked up at him to see his reaction. The way he was looking at her was the same way that everyone had looked at her at the party after the tape came on, like she was scum. She felt lower than she had felt in the morning and she struggled for words to make him stop looking at her like that. "Chase," she began.

Chase did not give her a chance to continue as he shook his head, telling her without words that he was not interested in whatever she had to say before walking away.

"I'm sorry." Nathan said as he came into Peyton's room where he found her boxing. He had decided to come in without knocking incase she refused to let him again. "I know I'm late. I should have been here two years ago."

Peyton stopped boxing and looked at him. "Then why weren't you? And why Brooke? Did you hate me that much?"

"No," Nathan answered quickly, surprised by her question. He had been an ass back then but he hadn't been purposefully vindictive and hateful. "I hooked up with Brooke because she was drunk and I was a bastard. It didn't mean anything. Just a mistake that we both wanted to forget."

"Explains why you taped it." Peyton said dryly.

"Did I mention that I was a stupid bastard," he said trying to make Peyton stop shooting daggers at him. The truth was that ever since the tape had been played, he had been trying to figure out a reason for why he had taped having sex with his girl friend's best friend other than sheer idiocy but he had yet to come up with one.

The attempt to lighten the mood did not work and Peyton stood there still scowling.

"I'm really sorry Peyton. I know it's not much right now but I hope that in time you can come to forgive me and Brooke. It was a mistake that we both regret and I know Brooke is really upset about this whole thing too."

Peyton's face went from scowling to raging mad in about two seconds and Nathan tried to figure out what he had said to further upset her.

"Brooke's really upset right now?" Peyton asked in a disbelieving tone. "You are concerned about the girl's feelings who you cheated on me with? Where was the concern about my feelings two years ago?"

Nathan unconsciously backed away as if to put distance between him and Peyton's angry yelling. "I'm sorry," he scrambled to say. "You know I was an ass back then. I didn't care about anything. And I'm not saying that Brooke being upset is more important than how you feel, I just wanted you to know that she is sorry, just like I am."

"Get out!" Peyton yelled.

"What?" Nathan asked, confused. He could not understand what was so wrong with what he was saying.

"Get out!"

Nathan looked at Peyton's clenched hands and could feel the anger that seemed to be rolling off her and decided to take her order seriously. He remembered Brooke's eye and noted that he did not want to become another victim of Peyton Sawyer's wrath the day before prom and he scrambled to leave quickly before Peyton replaced her boxing bag with him.

Peyton stood in the same spot fuming for a couple of minutes after Nathan left. She could not believe that he had the nerve to defend Brooke to her after what they had both done to her. She remembered her conversation with Lucas earlier and could not understand how Brooke had managed to get both guys on her side when it was her who had been so gravely wronged.

"_Hey, how are you doing,?" Lucas asked as he came up behind Peyton who was sketching at her desk._

_Peyton turned around to face him with a slight smile. "Better now that you are here."_

_Lucas smiled at his girlfriend. "Well if it helps, Brooke feels really bad," he said and Peyton's smile disappeared._

"_Wait, what? You went to see Brooke before you came here?"_

_Lucas could hear the anger in Peyton's voice. "It was on the way," he defended himself._

"_You know what else is on the way? The door. You can show yourself out," she said with a finality that left little room for argument._

_Lucas knew that the safest thing to do was leave and give Peyton time to cool down but there was a part of him that was looking for a fight so instead of getting out, he asked, "Okay, what's going on with you? I know you are mad about the tape but that had nothing to do with me."_

"_No last night had nothing to do with you. But right now I am beyond mad about the tape and I think that I am entitled to feel that way and what would help is if my boyfriend would defend me and be there for me instead of my slut of a best-friend."_

_Lucas winced. "I am here for you Peyton and I do think that you have a right to be angry. But I also think that you have to put things in perspective here. Me and you kind of did the same thing to Brooke."_

"_Oh, we had sex? It must not have been very good 'cause I don't remember it," Peyton said in that sarcastic tone that Lucas in all of his time loving Peyton had never come to find endearing._

"_No," he replied struggling to keep the frustration out of his voice. "But we did go behind her back and break her heart._

_Peyton gripped his arms hard and shook him. "Don't you ever defend the one you are dating?"_

_She walked out of the room and left Lucas pondering her last question. Lucas wondered briefly what was wrong with him. When he was with Brooke she had always felt that she didn't have all of his heart and he could not understand why. Now that he was with Peyton, he understood how Brooke had felt, because he wasn't sure that Peyton had all of his heart and he wasn't doing such a good job of convincing her otherwise. _

Brooke was on her way out of the gym, ready to head home and end her horrible day when she ran into Chase on his way in.

"Hey," she greeted, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Hey," he said back but his tone was considerably cooler than hers.

"I'm sorry my past keeps coming back to haunt us. I have a lot of skeletons in my closet and apparently half of them were naked."

Chase did not crack a smile. "I liked you Brooke," he said seriously. "But you know that my best-friend slept with my girlfriend, just like you and Peyton's boyfriend."

"It wasn't like that," Brooke said softly. She was tired of fighting and yelling and trying to explain herself to people who already had their minds made up.

"I know prom is important to you so we can still go tomorrow but after that, we cannot see each other again," Chase continued as if he hadn't even heard her.

Brooke felt tears forming and willed herself not to cry. "Then let it just be over now. I don't want to go to prom with someone who doesn't want to be with me."

"You said no more surprises." There was finality in Chase's voice and Brooke's heart deflated. A part of her had been hoping that perhaps Chase would change his mind.

Brooke nodded, held her head up high and walked away. She got into her car and started driving, trying to maintain control over her tears. She wasn't sure where she was driving until she reached the river court. She got out and walked over to the bench where she sat down and looked around at the place that had come to hold a special place in her heart despite her heart being broken by the same boy who had introduced it to her. She didn't notice that she had company until a voice beside her said, "You look as bad as I feel."

She turned to her side and saw Nathan standing over her. She looked around wondering where he had come from.

"I was sitting in my car, avoiding going home to have yet another fight with Haley when I saw you walk up," he said gesturing to the car parked behind a tree that she had failed to notice. "So I guess it is a stupid question to ask if you are okay."

Brooke bit down on her lip. "Are you?"

"Well my day consisted of fighting with Haley, apologizing, fighting with Haley some more and Peyton yelling at me so no, I'm not okay."

"Oh so you encountered the wrath of Peyton too?" Brooke asked with a small smile.

Nathan laughed and the sound felt foreign after all the tears and yelling of the day. "You don't have to look so happy about it."

Brooke's smile turned into a full fledged one and Nathan found some of the tension in his muscles relaxing at the sight of Brooke's dimples. He vaguely wondered how it was that Brooke was the one to offer comfort to him during one of the worst days ever without her saying anything. His thoughts were interrupted by the sobs from the girl he was thinking about. He looked down sharply and felt a jab of pain in his heart at Brooke's appearance. She had a hand over her mouth attempting to stifle her sobs and there were tears streaming down her face and all Nathan wanted to do was make her dimples appear again.

He sat down next to her and gathered his arms. At first she resisted but she soon relaxed into his embrace as he rubbed one hand comfortingly over her back. "Chase broke up with me," Brooke said in between sobs. "He thinks that I am a slut who isn't good enough for him."

Nathan tensed. "Did he say that?"

"He didn't have to. It was written all over his face," came Brooke's broken reply.

Nathan took a minute to control his anger at Chase and then he said to Brooke. "You are not a slut Brooke. We both made a mistake two years ago but you are one of the best people I know. I have known you for a long time and you have always been a good person underneath it all but I am so proud at the person you have become. Chase is undeserving of you not the other way around."

Brooke's sobs subsided and she slowly brought up her eyes to meet Nathan. His eyes were soft with kindness and something else that she couldn't quite place. He brought his hand up to wipe her cheek and Brooke shivered at the contact. "Nathan?" her voice came out a husky whisper and Nathan's eyes darkened as he looked down at the mouth where his name had come from.

They were sitting so close, their eyes locked, neither of them moving when a bird flew by loudly and the spell was broken. Nathan removed his hand from Brooke's face and she shifted away from him. Nathan suddenly felt lost as Brooke hurriedly got up, wiping at her face and adjusting her clothes.

"Thanks for being such a good friend Nathan," Brooke said, not meeting his eyes. "Good luck with Haley. Everything is going to work out."

At the mention of his wife's name, Nathan felt some of the tension returning. How could he have been sitting at the river court comforting Brooke when it was Haley who was hurting the most. He stood up and mumbled, "Yeah. I'll see you later" as he walked past Brooke.

Brooke watched him leave and then sat back down on the bench. She brought her hand up to where Nathan's hand had been; she could still feel his fingers on her cheek as if they had been imprinted there. She shook her head and tried to shake off the odd feeling enveloping her. _What the hell has just happened?_


	5. We Are Going to Get Through This

**We Are Going To Get Through This**

There was a warm aroma of pancakes and bacon greeting Nathan when we woke up the morning of prom. He had gotten home the previous night to find Haley already sleeping. He wasn't surprised really as Haley seemed to sleep a lot these days but he had been taken aback at the relief that had hit him at the realization that he would not have to interact with his wife anymore that day. He, himself, had struggled to sleep as he was tormented with nightmares regarding the night of the accident that had led Haley to miscarry. These dreams were becoming more frequent and as Nathan walked into the kitchen, he thought that maybe he should talk to Haley about them. These thoughts flew out his mind as soon as he saw her.

"Hey honey," she greeted warmly. She was standing by the stove, an apron around her waist and a spatula in her hand. She looked completely normal but Nathan did a double take at her appearance. It took him a minute to figure out what was off. Sure, it had been awhile since Haley had cooked him breakfast but that wasn't what was different. Haley noticed Nathan studying her intensely and she chuckled. "Are you okay Nathan?" Immediately Nathan realized what was different. Haley actually looked happy. There was a smile on her face and the circles around her eyes that had been ever present since the accident were no longer so noticeable. Not wanting to bring up the past but needing an explanation for the change in Haley's mood, Nathan asked gently, "What's going on Haley?"

He could tell she understood what he meant because her smile faded a bit and she looked away before her eyes met his, full of determination. "Look Nathan, I know things haven't been that great between us and yesterday I said some things that I shouldn't have but it's prom tonight. Maybe it isn't going to be perfect but I just thought we should at least try to make it a good one."

Nathan let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and his mouth turned up into a grin. "You mean that? You are going to go to prom with me?"

Haley laughed. "No. I'm going to go with my other husband. Of course I am going with you Nathan."

Nathan could not believe his eyes and ears. Haley was smiling and laughing and Nathan thought to himself that he was the luckiest guy in the world to have a wife so loving and forgiving. He walked towards her and hugged her close. "I love you Haley James Scott and I promise to make tonight wonderful for you."

Haley hugged him back fiercely and she tried to block out the demons still in her head. She had a made a conscious decision to try and forget all about the accident and the sex tape and concentrate on her husband. Last night she had cried for what they both had lost and she had decided that she had to hang on to what she had left. As he held her close, Haley gathered strength from the embrace. She was still hurting but she was going to put away those feelings for Nathan, so that maybe they could both survive the unimaginable pain. "I love you too Nathan," she whispered. "We are going to get through this."

_Another bad day. _That was what Brooke was thinking as she stared at the empty bed where Rachel used to sleep. The night before, the red head had told Brooke that Principal Turner had expelled her. Brooke had tried to convince the other girl not to take the blame for her but Rachel had insisted that Brooke had more to lose. Rachel had been resolute in her decision and Brooke had reluctantly agreed but now as she sat in the empty house belonging to her former roommate, Brooke could not help but feel extremely guilty and also lonely. It was prom and she had no date and her best-friends were not speaking to her. When they were younger, Brooke and Peyton used to talk about the Senior Prom, fantasizing about who they would go with and what they would wear. While the dates and the clothes fantasies changed as they grew up, the one thing that had remained the same was that they were both sure that they would spend the day getting ready together. Now the two girls weren't speaking and Brooke had never felt farther away from her former best-friend. To make matters worse, Haley wasn't speaking to Brooke either and Rachel, who against all odds had actually turned out to be a good friend was gone. For the first time in a really long time, Brooke Davis felt truly alone.

A ringing doorbell startled Brooke out of her thoughts. She decided to ignore it figuring it was no one she wanted to see but as it continued ringing insistently she figured whoever it was wouldn't go away until she answered. Besides it was probably better to be insulted and berated in the privacy of Rachel's house instead of at the Prom in front of her classmates later in the night.

"Mouth!" Brooke exclaimed in surprise when she saw the boy standing at the door. She hadn't given much thought to him since the tape had come out and now she wondered whether he was here to judge her or to see Rachel. She hoped for the latter so she said, "I'm sorry Mouth but Rachel isn't here."

"I know. She came to see me on her way out of town. She told me that she got expelled."

"Oh." Brooke's shoulders slumped down as she anticipated another friend telling her off. Mouth had always been supportive of her, despite all her mistakes but seeing her mistake on tape had seemingly made it a lot more real for most people and therefore a lot harder to handle. She grimaced as she thought of Chase and slowly looked up at Mouth prepared to see the disappointed look on his face.

He was looking at her sympathetically though with no trace of disappointment but as Brooke looked at him longer, she was surprised to see a hint of sadness in his usually warm eyes. Forgetting about the sex tape and how he might have felt about it, she moved aside to let him. Once they were seated in the living room, she asked "What's going on Mouth?"

His voice was low and dejected when he answered, "Shelly dumped me. She doesn't want to go to prom with me anymore."

Brooke was sure her face mirrored the way his had been minutes earlier. Sympathy mixed with sadness. On his part, Mouth just looked sad now. "I'm sorry Mouth. I know how it feels to be rejected by a clean teen."

His eyes shot up to meet hers. "What?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, Chase also dumped me. Apparently the sex tape was just a little too much Brooke to handle and I'm also dateless tonight."

A smile broke out on Mouth's face which Brooke mistook as joy on Mouth's part that she had gotten what was coming to her. She was therefore surprised when he said, "Brooke Davis, will you be my prom date?"

He was still grinning and Brooke found that it was infectious. She suddenly felt overwhelmed at the friendship Mouth gave her. He was the one person whom since she had let into her world had always been there for her. And even now in the wake of a new scandal which left those who were closest to her not talking to her, he was standing in front of her asking her to Prom like nothing had changed. Brooke decided that from now she was going to be a great friend to Marvin McFadden and she was going to start by going to Prom with him and helping him forget about Shelly. Brooke reached out and hugged him, "I'd love to. You are an amazing guy Mouth. Tonight is going to be fun. We are both going to get through this."

Mouth hugged her back, taking in the comfort that her arms provided. He was now sure that he would be fine. He had always thought Brooke was a much better friend than she sometimes gave herself credit for and now in her arms, he was sure that with her on his side, he could get through the heartbreak that came with rejection. "We are going to get through this," he repeated with conviction and Brooke tightened her hold on him and tried to get herself to believe it.


	6. Prom Night at Hater High Part One

**A/N**: _Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. I've been feeling unmotivated and uninspired but knowing that someone out there is reading helps a lot more that I could have imagined_.

_I meant to post the Prom part as one chapter but it ran a little long so I am going to post it in two parts. This is part one and I'll try to get the second part out soon if there is interest._

_Also, in case you haven't noticed, character thoughts are in italics._

XXXX

"Oh my god, it looks so beautifu!" Bevin Maskey squealed as she entered the gym hand in hand with her boyfriend Skillz Taylor. Brooke and Mouth were on her other side and Fergie and Junk were following close behind. The group of six had taken a limo together from the River Court, a last minute decision that had turned out to be a good one as the odd mix of friends had laughed and talked together as they sipped champagne in the limo as if they had spent all of high school being friends which of course was not the case. The ride had been fun and comfortable and Brooke had managed to avoid thinking about who was missing.

"Damn girl, you pimped the gym." Skillz said and everybody laughed.

Brooke looked around and found herself agreeing with Skills. The gym really had been transformed and was hardly recognizable as the place where Whitey drilled the players as Brooke and the rest of the cheerleaders cheered. Brooke had of course seen the transformation taking place but there had been so much tension and anger around then that she had failed to really notice how beautiful everything looked.

"You should be proud of yourself," Mouth whispered from beside her and Brooke noticed that everyone else had scattered away while she was caught in her trance.

She turned to face him and grinned. "I am. Despite everything the gym looks good and I have managed to score a hot prom date. What more could a girl ask for?"

Mouth blushed from the compliment. "How about a drink?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah actually, that would be good. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No I got it. I'll be right back."

Brooke watched him walk away with a smile as she thought of what a great guy Mouth truly was. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around, the smile still on her face which quickly faded when she saw who it was.

"I don't want to fight with you Haley."

Haley gave her a small smile. "I don't want to fight with you either Brooke."

Brooke raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything so Haley continued. "I may have over-reacted a little bit yesterday. The tape hurt me but you are right, neither you and Nathan knew me back then. You have been a good friend to me Brooke and I shouldn't have been so harsh. There is just a lot going on right now."

Brooke's eyes filled up with tears as she thought of all that Haley had been through. Brooke had held Haley soon after she had found out that she had miscarried. The sobs that had racked the other girl's body as Brooke held her had tormented Brooke for days. "You don't have to apologize to me Haley. I'm really sorry that you had to see that tape. And I'm really sorry that I hurt you. I've learned that just because the hurt that you caused someone was unintentional doesn't mean it hurts any less."

"No it doesn't." Haley agreed softly. "But I don't want to talk about the tape anymore. It's prom and I just want to have fun with my husband and my best friends." She was looking straight at Brooke when she said the last part and Brooke understood that this was Haley's way of saying that she forgave her.

"I love you Tutor Wife." Brooke said as she brought Haley into a hug.

Haley's voice was thick with tears when she said "I love you too Tigger." _Please don't let me down again Brooke. I need you. _

XXXX

"Hey man," Nathan greeted his brother as Lucas sat down next to him. Nathan had been watching Brooke and Haley and nervously waiting for an explosion. He had been pleasantly surprised when he saw them hug instead. Glad that Haley had decided to forgive Brooke as well, Nathan now focused his attention on Lucas who looked a lot less happy than a guy who had just walked into the prom with his girlfriend on his hand should be. "What's wrong with you? It's Prom man, not a funeral."

"Did you know that my Mom is here with Dan?"

Nathan laughed out loud. "No. You got to be kidding."

Lucas shook his head. "Seems like she has decided to give him another chance."

"I can get why you would be mad about that but I really think Dan has changed. Maybe you should give him a chance too."

As Lucas contemplated what Nathan had said, Nathan studied him. Taking a chance, he asked "Is that all that is bothering you?"

Lucas hesitated. "I don't want to dump my problems on you. We both know you have enough of your own."

Nathan couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. "Actually my problems are a little less today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Me and Haley are doing better and since I have a little less on my plate, you can unload a little bit on me."

Lucas silently marveled at how much Nathan had changed. It was somewhat surreal to him that they were really were brothers now, in every sense of the word. Stranger things had happened though, like his mother attending his prom with his father. Shuddering at the thought, Lucas forced himself to focus on his other problems. "Me and Peyton are fighting."

"So you are on Peyton's bad list too." He tried to keep the amusement out of his voice but was rather unsuccessful. A part of Nathan felt that Lucas deserved the problems he was having with the blonde. It seemed to Nathan that Lucas was too cavalier with hearts which was sort of ironic given the state that his was in. Lucas bounced back between Brooke and Peyton without giving much thought about how his indecision was affecting them. If Peyton was mad at Lucas, Nathan was sure he deserved it, especially given what his brother had confessed the day earlier about not being sure that Peyton really did have all of his heart.

Lucas shot him a glare. "You don't have to sound so happy about that."

"Sorry," Nathan mumbled but it was clear he didn't really mean it. "So what are you guys fighting about?"

Lucas looked away, suddenly uncomfortable and Nathan knew right away the answer to his question. "Brooke."

"Yeah," Lucas confirmed. "I probably should not be talking to you about her given that you have probably heard more about her in the last couple of days that you have ever wanted to."

Nathan nodded. He didn't want Lucas talking to him about Brooke but it wasn't because of the reason Lucas had given. The thought of Lucas confessing that he still had feelings for Brooke made Nathan very uncomfortable and he wasn't exactly sure why.

"But you are the only one that I can talk to about this," Lucas continued.

Nathan inwardly groaned at the needy look on Lucas's face. Clearly Lucas was ready for a heart to heart and Nathan could not bring himself to deny him. "Okay. What's going on with you and Brooke?"

"There's nothing going on." Lucas was quick to protest. "But me and Peyton have been fighting over her because Peyton is really mad over the tape and I have defended Brooke. I just don't think Peyton really has a right to be so self-righteous given what we have both done."

"I don't think she does either." Nathan agreed. Lucas looked relieved to have someone see his point of view but Nathan continued. "But you chose Peyton Lucas. And now you have to stick with that choice. I am pretty sure that everyone just wants to put the dreaded triangle to rest. If for that to happen, it means that you can't stick up for Brooke every time even though Peyton's wrong then maybe you should just do it. Peyton will eventually come to her senses and maybe everyone can be friends again. But you can't make Peyton feel insecure over her relationship with you. Maybe you should just steer clear of Brooke for a while."

Lucas was clearly unhappy at the suggestion but he nodded slowly. 'Maybe you are right."

Nathan got up and clapped Lucas on the shoulder sympathetically as he saw Peyton approaching. "As an expert at having Peyton Sawyer mad at you, I suggest you just apologize," he said in a low voice. "Here comes your chance."

XXXX

An hour later and the prom was in full swing. The dance floor was packed with bodies and among them Mouth was spinning Brooke around to Gym Class Heroes. Brooke was having a great time and was oblivious to the boy standing on the outskirts of the dance floor watching her or the girl standing on the other side of the dance floor watching the boy watching Brooke.

Lucas had had a talk with Peyton in which he had apologized and as Nathan had predicted, the apology had helped Peyton calm down. The two made up but even as he had kissed her and told her he loved her to which she had reciprocated, Lucas still felt a bit of unease. They had parted, her to go to the bathroom and he supposedly to search for Haley but he had been standing in the same spot for the last few minutes watching his ex-girlfriend get twirled around by his good friend and wondering how he had managed to screw up so much that he wasn't the one out there with her, making her dizzy with twirls and putting a grin on her face. For as long as Lucas could remember he had dreamt of going to prom with Peyton Sawyer. After the winter formal where had ended up at the beach with Brooke, those dreams had been replaced with dreams of getting to be the guy who ended his night with Brooke Davis at the Senior Prom. As Lucas watched Brooke on the dance floor, he couldn't help but wonder how everything had gotten so complicated. Lucas could not understand how he could be living out one dream but couldn't let go of the other. He was with Peyton and he was sure that he loved her but there was a part of him that still thought that Brooke was the most beautiful girl that he had ever known and for whom right now, he would gladly give up his right arm to be the one out there on the dance floor twirling her like there was nothing wrong in the world.

From the opposite end of the dance floor, Peyton watched Lucas watching Brooke and felt her heart increasingly grow heavy with jealously at every second that Lucas stood staring at Brooke. She had been on her way to the bathroom when she heard Gym Class Heroes come on. She remembered Lucas admitting to her that he liked the _Good Vibrations_ song to which she had mercilessly made fun of him for liking such as a mainstream song. When she had heard the song come on, she had decided to grab him and dance with him in the spirit of making up and actually enjoying their Prom. She had spotted him and began to make her way to him but the way he was looking at something on the dance floor made her stop. She had followed his line of vision until she spotted a flash of red silky material and shiny wavy brown hair flying around. Immediately she had known what had Lucas so transfixed and her heart had dropped right then. Her eyes had gone back to him and the look of desire, longing and regret that was etched on his face had rendered her unable to move. She was still rooted to the spot looking at Lucas who seemed to still be watching Brooke when the song ended and Principal Turner came on stage.

"Hello everyone. I hope that you are all enjoying your Prom." Principal Turner said into the microphone to which there was loud applause. "It's time to announce your choice for Prom King and Queen." There was loud applause again and Peyton looked over at Brooke. She looked excited and nervous and Peyton suddenly wished that she was standing next to her. She knew how much Brooke wanted to be Prom Queen and she was surprised that Brooke looked nervous for in the past she had always been confident that she would win. At that moment, Brooke turned and her eyes locked with Peyton's as if she had been searching for her. Brooke smiled nervously at her and Peyton was about to offer a smile of encouragement when she felt another set of eyes on her. Peyton didn't have to look to know who those eyes belonged to. She felt a jab of pain at the reminder that Lucas was still watching Brooke and she brought her eyes forward so as not to look at either her ex best-friend or her boyfriend. Brooke brought her eyes to the stage again, trying to contain the tears beginning to form there at Peyton's rejection. She heard clapping and looked around confused. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had missed Principal Turner's announcement.

"Nathan got Prom King," Mouth explained, pointing to the steps where Nathan was walking up onto the stage.

A genuine smile formed on Brooke's face as she joined in the clapping. As the clapping died down, Principal Turner stepped closer to the stage to announce the Prom Queen. Mouth took her hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze and she looked at him appreciatively.

"And the Prom Queen is…," Principal Turner paused and looked around for dramatic effect and then he said "Brooke Davis."

The applause was thunderous and instantaneous and Brooke squealed and hugged Mouth before she began making her way to the stage. She joined Nathan and Principal Turner up on the stage where she was awarded with a crown which she put on eagerly.

"Now it's time for the traditional dance between the King and Queen. Let's clear the dance floor for them."

Nathan and Brooke turned to look at each other in shock_. A dance between the two of us? Great, that will help people forget that we made a sex tape. Oh! Maybe that is why people voted for me as Prom King. I mean Brooke was a shoe-in but me? _

rooke was mortified. She had been so nervous that the tape would ruin her chances of getting Prom Queen that she hadn't thought that people might vote for her just to see her have to endure an awkward dance with Nathan. There was nothing the student body at Tree Hill High loved more than a good drama involving the popular people. _Well, I am not going to let anyone ruin this for me. _Brooke squared her shoulders and smiled so that her dimples appeared. "Shall we dance?" She had her hand out and she was begging Nathan with her eyes to go along with it and along with that charming smile on her face, Nathan couldn't bear to refuse her. He took her hand in his and led her off the stage to the dance floor avoiding meeting anyone's eyes in fear of seeing anger or hurt in his wife's. He put his arms around Brooke and he was surprised how comfortable it was right away to hold her. As soon as Nathan put his arms around her, Brooke felt calm. Without giving it any thought, she moved a bit closer. Nathan was surprised at the move but didn't back away. He was well aware that he was probably going to pay for this dance later but at the minute, he couldn't seem to care.


	7. Prom Night at Hater High Part Two

Author's Note: _I said in Chapter 2 that this was ultimately going to be a Brooke and Nathan story. That is what I still intend to happen. I do, however, reserve the right to change my mind._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially to brucas.matchmadeinheaven.naley for telling me how to put lines in stories. That was driving me insane._

_Please Read and Review._

* * *

"Are you okay?" 

Haley turned her head to her right at her best-friend's question. She had been concentrating so much on the couple in the middle of the dance floor that she hadn't heard Lucas approach. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Lucas smiled gently. "Because a couple of seconds ago, you were glaring at Nathan and Brooke like it was two nights ago and they were on that tape again."

Haley sighed and looked back at the dance floor.

Lucas put her arm around her and whispered. "They are just dancing Haley, for tradition's sake. I'm sure they are both uncomfortable with this."

Haley laughed partly at how well Lucas could read her and partly due to embarrassment. She felt like a hypocrite for being so harsh on the two when she herself had promised to move past the tape and normalize relations with both of them. The logical part of Haley knew that Nathan and Brooke had neither planned nor wanted the dance as anyone could have seen from the awkward looks that had crossed their faces when Principal Turner announced the dance. The other part of Haley was saying that they didn't look quite so uncomfortable now. "You are right. I'm just being silly," she said more to convince herself than because she really believed it.

To her right, Lucas heard the doubt in Haley's voice and frowned. He looked at the dance floor and felt his own doubt form. He knew that Nathan and Brooke were just friends but suddenly looking at them, Lucas felt a hint of jealousy that was different than the jealousy he had felt when Brooke was dancing with Mouth. His eyes squinted in confusion as he watched his brother and his ex-girlfriend. He was sure that there was something different between the two of them but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

* * *

"Thanks for doing this," Brooke murmured. Her head was against Nathan's chest and her voice was muffled against his jacket. Nathan struggled to catch the words then his head lowered in confusion as he understood what she said. 

"Doing what?"

"Dancing with me and therefore not making me look like an idiot. I know that everybody just voted for me because they wanted to see us have to dance awkwardly together but I don't want anyone to take away Prom Queen for me, no matter what the reasons for my winning are." Brooke said with her head still in Nathan's chest. Nathan shook his head and she felt the movement of it though she wasn't looking at him. She moved her head up so that she was facing him head on, ready to hear why he disagreed.

"Maybe that's why they voted for me. But everyone would have voted for you whether there was a sex tape or not. You are Brooke fucking Davis, you are going to go down in this school as a legend."

Brooke grinned, her insecurities seemingly forgotten. "You are right. I am Brooke fucking Davis. I deserve to be up here."

Nathan grinned as well. "There you go. There's the Brooke Davis I know."

"You know what Nathan? You deserve to be up here too. Remember back in our freshman year after you started playing basketball and I became a cheerleader, you were mad and wanted to quit because the upper classmen on your team were being too rough on you and I told you to push past it cause one day we would be the most popular people in school and we would be voted Prom King and Queen."

Nathan nodded slowly as it came back to him. "That seems like a million years ago."

"_Ugh," Nathan yelled as he punched the wall outside the boy's locker room._

"_Do you feel better now?" a sweet voice with a trace of sarcasm said behind him._

"_What do you want Brooke?" He asked without turning around. He didn't need to to know who the voice belonged to. Nathan and Brooke had always run in the same circles but they were never close friends. Nathan had once thought that him and Brooke would be the best of friends and as kids they had been. Their parents socialized together and the two were the most popular of their class. But as Brooke got older, the bitchier and more annoying she got, at least that is the way that Nathan saw it. From Brooke's point of view, Nathan was an arrogant asshole. Peyton would always say that the two were just too much alike and while Brooke would retort that she was nothing like that jerk, she would secretly have to agree. _

_Brooke never missed a chance to goad Nathan and seeing him hit the wall outside the locker room after a rough practice which she had just witnessed, Brooke couldn't resist the chance to further irritate him. "Aww poor Nathan. 'My team hates, my Daddy doesn't love me. Life is so hard.'"_

_Nathan turned around sharply and when he spoke, his voice was laced with venom. "Shut up Brooke."_

_Brooke heard the warning in his voice and took pleasure in knowing she could push his buttons. "What are you gonna do Natey? Are you going to hit…" _

_Before Brooke could even finish her sentence, Nathan had charged towards her and pushed her against the wall. "You would like that, wouldn't you? That way you could run to Mommy and Daddy and show them your bruise and maybe they would actually pay attention to you?" He was so close to her that he saw the impact of his words right away. If he hadn't been pressed up right against her, Nathan would have missed the way Brooke's eyes widened in shock and pain before becoming blank so that Nathan couldn't read them. _

"_Get off me you asshole." Was all Brooke said as she pushed him. Her voice was controlled and calm. "You don't know anything about me."_

_Nathan looked at the girl in front of him and he realized that it was true. The words that he had uttered to her moments earlier had come from whispers he had heard between his Mom and Dad about Brooke's absentee parents. Nathan had always dismissed them as rumours for despite being a huge bitch, Brooke was the most cheerful person he knew. Nathan could not fathom that someone that happy all the time could be having problems at home. The look in her eyes at his words, however, had confirmed that the whispers were true. Nathan suddenly felt sorry for Brooke. While his relationship with his own parents was rocky at best, at least they were there and he knew in their own way that they did love him. "You are right. I'm sorry. It's just been a shit day."_

_If Brooke was surprised at his apology, she didn't show it. She just looked at him for one long minute and then she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground. "Want to talk about it?"_

_Nathan looked at her, expecting to find laughter in her eyes but she seemed completely serious. She gestured towards the spot on the ground next to her with her eyes. Nathan hesitated but eventually sat down. He found himself confessing about his troubles on the team and his desire to quit but also his fear of disappointing his father._

"_Do you love the game?" Brooke asked after Nathan was done._

_Nathan did not even have to think about his answer. "Yeah. I really do."_

"_Well then you know what you need to do." Brooke said with a shrug._

"_It's not that simple," Nathan began. "There is-"_

"_Actually it is that simple," Brooke interrupted. "You love basketball so you should stay on the team. Not for your Dad but for you. This stuff with the hazing is going to be over before you even know it." She stood up and grabbed her bag and pom poms. "By next year, you are going to be the most popular guy in this school. I know this because I am going to be the most popular girl. You and I are going to be Prom King and Queen our seniour year and you won't even remember how bad things were right now."_

_Nathan was amazed at Brooke's confidence. Nathan considered himself a confident guy but Brooke spoke about everything like it was fact which left no room for doubt. "How can you be so sure?"_

_Brooke flashed him her signature dimpled smile. "Because I'm Brooke Davis, I know everything," She turned around to walk away then paused. "Besides, it is only natural that we be Prom King and Queen. After all we are the most good looking people here." She flashed another smile and then she was gone._

_Nathan stayed where he was sat, marveling at the girl that had just left. Brooke Davis, just had to be the most amazing girl he would ever meet._

"We both deserve to be up here. After all, we are the most good looking people here."

Brooke's eyes lit up at Nathan's words. "I can't believe you remember me telling you that."

Nathan laughed. "How could I forget? Those were pretty strong words to leave a guy with."

"Well I was right, wasn't I? We are the best looking people here."

Nathan looked at Brooke, really looked at Brooke for the first time tonight. "Well you are at least. You look gorgeous Brooke." He meant to say it lightly but it came out low and seductive.

A faint blush spread over Brooke's cheeks which Nathan noticed. He then felt embarrassed for making Brooke uncomfortable when she had just been trying to be friendly.

"Well you do not look so bad yourself Boy Toy," Brooke said with a smile.

Nathan laughed at the nickname, forgetting his awkwardness. "Boy Toy? I thought we had gotten rid of that one."

Brooke shrugged. "I've decided to bring it back." Her smile was light and teasing but inside Brooke's mind was spinning. Something had stirred in Brooke when Nathan had complimented her and she wasn't quite sure what it was. She had found herself blushing and she couldn't remember the last time a compliment had made her react in such a manner. She was still thinking about her reaction to Nathan when the song ended. She realized that she didn't feel ready to leave Nathan's arms and she looked around as she tried to think of ways to prolong the moment. As she did so, her eyes came across Lucas and Haley watching them. Suddenly feeling very guilty, she exclaimed "Haley!"

"What?" a confused Nathan asked, with his arms still around her waist.

"Haley! You should dance with your wife." She removed herself from his arms and began walking towards Haley and Lucas. It took a second for Nathan to react before he followed Brooke towards his wife.

"Sorry for stealing Nathan but now he's all yours Tutor Wife," Brooke said to Haley.

"It's okay," Haley said, chiding herself for even thinking bad things about Brooke. Clearly the other girl was eager to put an end to her dance with Nathan. "Actually I should be thanking you for taking his clumsy feet off me for once song. He's not exactly the best dancer."

"Hey!" Nathan protested. "I can hear you, you know."

Brooke laughed genuinely and noticed in relief that whatever feelings she had feeling on the dance floor no longer seemed to be present. "I think he's improved Haley. You should give him another chance."

Nathan grabbed Haley and spun her around. "Yeah, let me show you what I got."

Haley groaned but there was amusement in her eyes. "Okay but if he injures my other foot, it's on you Brooke."

"Okay, I can handle that."

Nathan and Haley danced away leaving Lucas and Brooke alone.

"You look beautiful Brooke," Lucas said.

Brooke looked over at Lucas. "You don't look so bad yourself." She tried to smile but found it hard. Lucas's compliment had a different effect on her than Nathan's. While with Nathan, she had felt almost giddy, Lucas complimenting her just reminded her how far apart the two were.

"Would you like to dance?"

Brooke bit her lip. The truth was that she would have liked to dance with Lucas. It was Prom, a night that she had often dreamt about spending with him and despite her best efforts, there was still a large part of her heart that was occupied by Lucas Scott.

Seeing her hesitation, Lucas pushed. "Oh come on, it's Prom. At the very least, we should have one dance together."

Brooke caved. As it turned out, Brooke had never been very good at saying "No" to Lucas Scott.

As they swayed together to the music, Brooke realized that she really did miss Lucas. As if reading her thoughts, Lucas whispered, "I miss you pretty girl."

At the use of her pet name, something in Brooke snapped. The name brought up so many memories of happier times between them, back when Brooke had still believed that Lucas loved her and maybe when he had believed it too. Brooke did not want to want to walk down memory lane just to be reminded of how alone she was in the end. She stepped away from Lucas and said, "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Brooke," Lucas said as he tried to reach out to her.

He was stopped by Mouth who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Let her go Lucas."

Lucas was silenced by the firmness of his friend's voice. He had rarely seen Mouth like this and he realized that his friend was quite serious. He therefore did not do anything as Mouth walked off in the direction that Brooke had gone.

Lucas looked around to see how many people had witnessed the exchange with Brooke. His eyes met the concerned ones of Haley and the disappointed ones of Nathan. There was something else in Nathan's eyes too, something akin to anger but Lucas wasn't sure why Nathan would be angry at him. Defeated, Lucas began to walk off the dance floor and came face to face with Peyton. There was a scowl on her face which told Lucas that she had seen him with Brooke.

"Peyton-" he began.

"Save it Lucas. I really don't want to hear it." She turned on her heel and walked away.

As Lucas sank down on a nearby chair, it occurred to him that he hadn't even tried to follow Peyton. Lucas looked around the dance floor again and this time he noticed that there were many happy couples still dancing. For Lucas, however, the Prom was over. His date wasn't speaking to him and he'd ran out of dancing partners. Lucas got up and headed to the door. The Prom may be over but that didn't mean the night had to be. If only he could track down Brooke then perhaps he could sort of fill out his second dream after all.


	8. I'm Wide Awake and It's Morning

"Good morning."

Nathan opened his eyes to the voice and smiled. Haley's arms were wrapped around him from behind and her head was in the crook of his neck. "How did you know I was awake?"

"Honey, we are married. By now I know how to tell whether you are actually sleeping or not."

Nathan laughed. "You are too smart for your own good sometimes Haley. I just wanted to lay here for a little bit longer."

Haley sighed in contentment and Nathan shivered at her breath on his shoulder. He meant what he said. It had been so long since they had lain like this and he had truly missed it. Ever since the accident, they had drifted further and further apart in bed until they would wake up on opposite sides or by the time one got up, the other one would be already up and out of the bed.

"I had fun last night Nathan. Thanks for making Prom perfect for me."

Nathan turned around to face his wife. "Do you mean that?"

Haley's eyes were glistening with tears which were not a rarity these days but for the first time she looked happy despite the tears. "Yeah I do."

Nathan leaned in and kissed Haley to which she eagerly reciprocated. He rolled her over so that she was now on top of him and she yelped in surprise before her mouth returned to his. At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Haley moved her lips away from Nathan's once more.

"Ignore it," he said as he tugged her head back down to his. They continued kissing and the knocking on the door became more persistent.

"Damn it," Nathan muttered in irritation and Haley chuckled against his lips. She liked seeing Nathan so eager to touch her and knowing that he fully wanted her. Ever since she had lost the baby, she had felt like he wasn't interested in her that way anymore. They hadn't had sex since the accident and while Haley herself had been pulling away psychically as well as emotionally, she had felt that while Nathan had constantly tried to bridge the emotional gap, he had made no moves to bridging the physical one. Haley was glad to see that they seemed to be getting back on track in both areas now.

"I'll get rid of whoever it is," she promised as she got off him.

Nathan grabbed her and pulled her down for one more kiss. "You better."

* * *

Peyton knocked on the door once more and waited, her hands shaking as she waited for someone to respond. When no one did after a minute, she punched the door in frustration and turned to walk away.

"What's going on?" Haley's concerned question stopped her as the door swung open. Peyton turned around and Haley gasped in surprise. Haley could not remember ever seeing Peyton like this. While Peyton had never exactly been the most cheerful person in Tree Hill, right now she looked completely broken. Her eyes were blood shot and there were still tears pooled in them, her hair was a mess and her hands were still shaking. Haley moved quickly to bring the other girl into an embrace and tried to sooth her by running her hand down her back. "Do you want to come in?"

Peyton shook her head without removing herself from the hug. "Can we just sit out here for a minute?"

"Sure," Haley agreed realizing that what she and Nathan had started would have to wait. She closed the door and sat down on the step.

Peyton did the same, putting her hands behind her knees to try and stop the shaking. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come over so early in the morning. I just…I could use a friend."

"No, I'm glad you came. What's going on?" Haley repeated her earlier question.

It took a minute for Peyton to respond but when she did, it came out a strangled sob. "I think that me and Lucas broke up."

"What? How did that happen?" Haley asked in genuine surprise. The two hadn't been together that long and Haley knew how much Peyton loved him.

"Well you must have seen him dancing with Brooke last night,"

"But it was just a dance Peyton," Haley interrupted.

"It's never just a dance with Brooke Davis," Peyton said snidely causing Haley to frown. Despite her strained relationship with Brooke lately, Haley still felt loyal towards the girl who had been a wonderful friend to her in the last year. Peyton noticed the frown and tried to explain. "I know how that came out but it's not even Brooke really that I'm mad at." She paused and a look of displeasure spread on her face. "Well actually I am mad at Brooke but I am madder at Lucas and myself even more."

Haley was silent as she waited for Peyton to elaborate. It was clear to her that Peyton was confused and angry. While Peyton's hands seemed to have stopped shaking, her knees had now begun to bounce up and down and she looked like she was ready to burst. Haley thought that Peyton would feel better if she just let everything out and so she waited for her to do so.

Apparently Haley was right for Peyton continued. "It's just, how could I have been so stupid? Lucas spent the last year saying how in love with Brooke he was and then she breaks up with him and we get together and I just expect him to be in love with me?"

"You are not stupid," Haley said gently. "I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't surprised when you two got together but I know Lucas. He wouldn't have started dated you if he didn't love you."

Peyton shook her head vigorously. "I don't think that Lucas knows what he wants. I'm sure that when we started dating he thought he was in love with me but I've seen the way he looks at Brooke, I mean come on, you saw him last night with her, you can't tell me you don't think that he is in love with her."

Haley struggled for the right words to say. She herself had always found it hard to believe that Lucas could just go from being so in love with Brooke to being in love with her best friend but Lucas had confided in her that he was happy with Peyton and that he was sure of his feelings. Haley was unsure of what Lucas really felt but because the girl beside her seemed like she needed some reassurance, Haley tried to sound confident when she said, "I don't doubt that Lucas loved Brooke but he's with you now. I just think that he may have some residual feelings for her, he will probably always have those but that doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

"I can't keep competing with Brooke for him Haley. Last night after I left Prom, I was so angry at him for dancing with her when he knows how mad I am at her right now and how that would make me feel. At the same time, I sort of hoped he would follow me but he didn't. I drove around for a while and ended up at the beach. I saw him sitting by himself and despite everything, I was still really happy to see him. I walked up to him but he didn't notice me walking up. When he finally heard someone beside him, he looked up with this eager grin on his face and when he saw it was me, his face just dropped. It was so clear that he was hoping it would be her."

"You don't know that."

A fresh tear fell down Peyton's face. "No, I really do. I asked him whether he was expecting Brooke and he couldn't even deny it. I asked him whether he was still in love with her and he said he wasn't sure, that he needed some time to think about things."

Haley scooted closer to Peyton and wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry Peyton. I can imagine how much this sucks."

There was a cough from behind the girls and they both turned around.

Nathan stood there, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, hands shoved deep in his pockets, looking uncomfortable. "Sorry to interrupt but I am going to head out."

"Where are you going to go?" Haley asked.

Nathan hesitated, "Brooke called. Her car broke down and she needs a ride."

"And she called you?" Peyton asked incredulously.

Nathan felt a twinge of irritation at Peyton's tone. While he understood that Peyton was still upset about the tape and that there was obviously something bothering her, he wondered for how long Brooke and him would have to bear the brunt of her anger. "Actually she called for Haley but since she's busy, I said I wouldn't mind getting her."

Haley stood up to face her husband. "It's okay. I appreciate you going to get her."

Nathan sighed in relief, glad that him and Haley were getting past the tape. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you later. And maybe we can continue what we started earlier."

Haley giggled then remembering Peyton, tried to suppress it. "I can't wait."

"Do you want to come inside?" Haley asked Peyton after Nathan had walked away.

"I don't get it."

"What?" Haley asked as she followed Peyton into the house.

"How you can trust him with her? She was my best-friend and she slept with him. What makes you think she wouldn't do it to you?"

Haley sighed, exasperated. "I get that you are mad at Brooke but she is my friend and I trust her. More importantly, I trust Nathan and I know that nothing is going to happen."

Peyton shook her head but said nothing. Clearly Haley was loyal to Brooke though Peyton could not understand why. For Peyton though, Brooke was not someone she would ever again call her friend. It seemed to Peyton that where Brooke Davis concerned, no guy could be trusted.


	9. The Hero Dies In This One

**Author's Note**: _I'm not sure people read these notes but questions that people have about pairings have mostly been addressed in previous Author's Notes. I feel like some people are impatient for Brathan but as I said before, it will happen but it might take a long while to get there. Here is some Brooke and Nathan interaction in the meantime._

"My hero," Brooke exclaimed when Nathan pulled up beside her VW bug.

Nathan laughed. "Yup, that's me." He spared a quick glance at the car and failing to notice anything wrong right away, he asked, "What happened?"

Brooke shrugged and Nathan began looking around at the car. "You called me because you had a flat tire? You made it sound like a dire emergency on the phone."

Brooke crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "Well it was. I don't know how to change a tire."

Nathan rolled his eyes. He wasn't really sure why he was surprised, this was Brooke after all. The girl had never made a secret of the fact that she did not like getting her hands dirty. "Brooke, it's not rocket science. Come on, I'll show you."

Brooke wrinkled her nose in distaste. "You can't actually expect me to get down there and change a tire? I would completely ruin my outfit."

Nathan took a minute to look Brooke up and down. She was wearing a short denim skirt and a tight fitting maroon strapless top. Her hair was down and wavy around her shoulders and she looked, Nathan hated to admit it, but she looked stunning. Actually now that Nathan thought about it, he could not remember when Brooke had looked less than stunning, but as he looked at her, he wondered when it was exactly that he started really noticing.

"What? Are you going to change my tire or not?" Brooke asked, tapping her wedge heel against the road impatiently and Nathan realized he was staring.

Embarrassed, he averted his eyes quickly and retorted, "Well maybe if you weren't such a spoiled little girl then I wouldn't have to change your tire for you."

Brooke's eyes widened and she opened her mouth and closed it, obviously failing to think of something to say. The way that Nathan had just snapped her at her reminded her of how their relationship had been before him and Haley got married. Back then she was used to insults and could always come up with an insult of her own quickly but now she had come to think of Nathan as a good friend and did not know how to respond to the unexpected jab at her. "I'm sorry," she said finally. "I shouldn't have called you. I know that there is a lot going on with you and Haley and the last thing I should be doing is making you come bail me out when I have caused so much tension between you. It's just that I couldn't get a hold of Mouth, Bevin was already on her way to pick up Skillz and,"

"Brooke," Nathan interrupted. "I'm the one who's sorry. I was an ass right there and I'm not sure why. I guess it's a hard habit to break."

A corner of Brooke's mouth went up and Nathan continued. "Although I think that you should be able to fix your own tire, I know better than to force the issue. And honestly I am glad to come bail you out. Haley and I are doing so much better now and you should not worry about trying to stay out of our life, we want you in it."

This time the whole of Brooke's mouth turned upward. "That was nice. Thanks Nathan."

Nathan shrugged nonchalantly though he was pleased that he had undone the damage done by his comment. He went to work replacing the tire and within minutes the job was done. "See how easy that was?"

"That's because you are so good. Next time I have a flat tire, I will make sure I call you. Clearly you are the best."

Nathan groaned though he really didn't mind and Brooke laughed. "Thanks though Nathan. Seriously."

Nathan shrugged again. "Anytime," he said and he meant it.

Brooke leaned against her bug and asked, "So you and Haley are really doing better?"

Nathan smiled as he thought of the earlier part of the morning. "Yeah we are."

"I'm glad," Brooke said genuinely. "You both deserve some happiness."

Nathan leaned on his own vehicle across from Brooke. "What about you? How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good," Brooke said quickly. Too quickly.

"Okay Davis, how long have I known you? You can talk to me, you know that right."

Brooke nodded. "I know. I just don't want to dump my problems on you. You have enough going on."

"I can handle it," Nathan said firmly.

Brooke hesitated knowing that what she was about to confess would only further complicate Nathan's life by putting him in an awkward position but she needed someone to talk to and he was offering. Despite her misgivings, she decided to go ahead and share her problems with him. "I've made a lot of mistakes Nathan."

"It's okay. If anyone can understand, it's me."

"I was the one who stole the Calculus test." The confession came out quickly and rushed but Nathan heard it all the same.

"What? But Rachel got expelled for it. I don't understand."

"Rachel covered for me. If I had gotten expelled, I would have lost my internship. I tried to stop Rachel but she insisted. She said that I had more to lose."

Nathan was surprised. He had found it easy to blame Rachel for taking the test and could not have imagined that she was actually just being a good friend. "What about Haley? You told her that you didn't take the test. If she finds out that you were the one who actually took it, I don't know what she will do."

Tears were now present in Brooke's eyes. "I know. When Haley confronted me about the test, I should have just told the truth but I panicked. I didn't want her to hate me. But now I feel guilty all the time, I mean Rachel got expelled for me and Haley still doesn't know and it just isn't right. But at the same time, if I am not allowed to graduate, I will lose my internship and right now that's all I got."

"Hey it's okay. I know how you feel."

Brooke who had previously been avoiding making eye contact, looked up at Nathan with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah. Obviously you know about the point shaving."

Brooke nodded.

"Well I almost got my own wife killed because of that and outside our group of friends, no one knows. Everyone still treats me like this basketball hero but I know the truth and it's eating me up alive."

"But Dante's dead Nathan and the most important people to you know the truth and still love you. No one else has to find out."

"One thing I've learned from this whole sex tape drama is even things that you thought were buried keep coming up," Nathan said remembering the words that Haley had said to him just a few nights ago. "I know that the only way to truly move past one's mistakes is to confess to them and try to make things right but I can't imagine losing my Duke scholarship. Right now, only that and Haley are keeping me going. I just, I can't lose either one of them."

Brooke heard the desperation in Nathan's voice and recognized that it probably matched her own. "What are we going to do?"

"I think you should tell Haley. If she finds out from anyone else, it will be harder for her to forgive you but if you tell her yourself, she will be mad but she will eventually get past it."

"Yeah, you are probably right," Brooke conceded. "But what about Rachel?"

"I don't know. Rachel took the blame for you because she understood how much you had to lose. Maybe we should just both keep quiet for now and let things settle down before we go to Principal Turner about anything."

Brooke nodded. "I'm scared that everything is going to fall apart. I'm just getting back on track from the last fallout."

"I know. But we are Brooke Davis and Nathan Scott, Prom Queen and King, we can get through anything."

Brooke smiled, a watery smile. "I feel like you are always comforting me lately. It's so unlike me, I'm sorry."

"You are such a good friend Brooke. I know you have made your mistakes but you have always been there to comfort any of us when we have been in pain-" Brooke was shaking her head signaling disagreement. "No, you really have been and I know that some people have you let down but if you ever need comforting, I am happy to be that guy."

Brooke bridged the distance between her and Nathan and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." He hugged her back just as tight and she felt the same feelings of safety and calm that she had been finding in his arms lately. "You really have become like my hero."

Nathan laughed. "I think hero is a little bit strong."

Brooke shook her head lightly and tightened her arms around Nathan's neck. "No, it's not."

* * *

Haley was taking her books out of her locker when Brooke approached her. "Hey," she greeted closing her locker and facing the brunette. "Was Nathan able to help you out?"

Brooke smiled softly. "Yeah. He was a big help."

"Well good. Sorry that I couldn't come get you myself but I was a little bit busy."

"Oh that's okay but what happened? Nathan said that you were having an intense conversation with Peyton. Is she alright?"

Haley appeared uncomfortable. "I don't really know whether it is my place to say."

Brooke blanched, "Right, Peyton and I aren't friends anymore. I keep forgetting."

"I'm sorry Brooke. I just don't want to betray Peyton's trust."

"It's okay. I understand."

"We're okay?" Haley asked.

Brooke was silent for a minute. It would be so easy for her right now to tell Haley that everything between them was okay but she remembered what Nathan had told her and knew that he was right. "I'm not upset with you about Peyton." Haley heaved a sigh of relief. "But I don't think that you and I are going to be okay after you hear what I have to say."

At Brooke's words, Haley's heart dropped as her mind began to race with thoughts of what Brooke had to say. She wondered if Peyton had been right, that no guy could be trusted with Brooke. What if something had happened between Brooke and Nathan in that short time that they had been together earlier in the morning?

"It was me Haley. I stole the calculus test."

Haley had not been expecting that one. "What? I thought that Rachel took the test. She got expelled."

Brooke lowered her head in shame. "Rachel was covering for me. If I had admitted to taking the test, I wouldn't have gotten to graduate and would have lost my Clothes over Bros deal."

"But I asked you whether you stole the test and you looked me in the eyes and told me that you hadn't." Haley's face scrunched up in confusion. "How could you lie like that to me Brooke?"

"I am so sorry Haley. I just, I panicked. I didn't want you to be mad at me and I know how cowardly that is but, I don't know, I just, I panicked."

"That's not an excuse Brooke," Haley said harshly. "You have had all this time to tell me the truth but you haven't. Why are you even telling me now? Did you find out that someone was going to tell me and wanted to beat them to it?"

"No, that's not why." Brooke protested. "I didn't tell you before because I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. After you threw your drink on Rachel and kicked her out of your party I was going to tell you. I didn't want Rachel to be taking responsibility for my actions but then the sex tape came out and you were already so mad at me, I couldn't imagine telling you about the test on top of everything."

"You still should have told me Brooke," Haley insisted. "The tape really hurt me but I forgave you because you had been a really good friend to me. Hearing this now," Haley paused. "You made me lose my job and then you lied to me. I'm not even sure who you are anymore."

"I am so sorry Haley. You have every right to be mad at me but I'm still the same girl who has been your friend this whole time. I've just made a lot mistakes."

"Just when I think I know who you are, you go and do something that shows me that I really don't. I just have to think that maybe Peyton was right about you, you are not someone I can trust."

Brooke flinched and her eyes filled with tears. "Haley," she began but was cut off by the sudden commotion of students running towards the front doors that led outside. "What's going on?" Brooke asked an excited looking kid who was heading in that direction.

"There are a bunch of reporters here. Something to do with Nathan Scott," the kid answered as he kept running.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Brooke was following behind him.

Haley was slower to react. "Nathan?" she asked to no one in particular for Brooke and the student had already disappeared in the crowds heading outside. When it clicked what the guy had said, she began to run outside, pushing her small frame through. Outside, Nathan was standing in the middle of the steps leading up to the school, facing the entrance where he was surrounded by reporters and news cameras.

"Nathan," the reporters yelled trying to get him to answer their questions.

"Nathan Scott, is it true that you agreed to shave some points off the final game for a man named Dante?" one reporter yelled.

"Yes Nathan. Tell us what you know about Dante," another reporter shouted, shoving his microphone into Nathan's face.

Haley stood frozen to the spot feeling her world slowly come crashing down. Her and Nathan were just beginning to get things back to normal and now it was going to be impossible to do so with the reawakening of the scandal from the point shaving. Haley could feel all the pain come rushing back as the memories of finding out that Nathan had been involved with the man who had run her down and caused her to lose her child came back to her. Suddenly feeling light headed and sick, Haley pushed her way out of the crowd and headed back inside in search of quiet. She could not bear to watch any longer the spectacle that her husband had become.

From her spot in the crowd, Brooke's heart ached for Nathan. He looked so lost and hurt amidst all the flashing cameras and microphones. Gone was the confident boy who had comforted her earlier. In his place was a broken one who looked in desperate need of saving. Without thinking about it, Brooke began to push towards him. Before she could reach him, Whitey had pulled him out of the reporters' way and was leading him inside. Brooke felt a tear slide down her cheek as she watched his disappearing back and she wondered just when they would all be okay again.


	10. Things Fall Apart

"I'm here to see Principal Turner. I'm Haley James Scott."

"It will just be a minute. Principal Turner is just finishing up with someone else right now but he should be ready for you soon." The receptionist's eyes betrayed nothing and Haley could not tell why she had been summoned over the loud speakers to report to the Principal's office. It had been a little over an hour since Haley had run away from the scene outside. She had been holed up in a corner of the library, hiding from everyone while trying to get herself under control when she had heard the announcement. Haley was smart enough to know that Principal Turner's sudden need to see her probably had something to do with the media spectacle surrounding her husband but Haley did not want to be involved anymore in the mess. She therefore clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, it had nothing to do with Nathan but rather to do with her valedictorian speech which she had just begun working on that morning after Peyton's departure.

"Principal Turner is ready for you now," the receptionist announced in a neutral tone.

Haley stood up grabbing her bag from the chair next to her. When she looked up, she came face to face with Nathan who was coming out of Principal Turner's office with Whitey. Nathan and Whitey both had grim looks on their faces and Nathan seemed to have tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he mouthed and Haley looked away. Without looking at Nathan again, she began taking slow steps towards Principal Turner's office now filled with the confirmation that her talk with the Principal had everything to do with Nathan.

"Close the door Haley," Principal Turner instructed as soon as she stepped into the office. Haley did as she was told and then took a seat facing the Principal.

"I'm sure you have an idea of why I called you here today."

Haley swallowed hard. "I assume it has something to do with Nathan and these accusations that the reporters are throwing around but really Principal Turner, I am not sure what it has to do with me."

Principal Turner frowned increasing his look of displeasure. "First of all, they're not just accusations. Nathan confessed to everything. Second of all, Nathan Scott is your husband so his behaviour has everything to do with you."

"I don't understand," Haley stammered. Though this was her second visit to the Principal's office in recent weeks, she was not used to being in trouble with him due to her great grades and her perfect attendance record and now that she was, Haley was at a loss of how to act and what to say.

"I'm sorry Haley but given the recent actions of your husband, I can't let you give the valedictorian speech anymore."

"What?! Principal Turner, I worked really hard to be able to make that speech."

"I know and I'm sorry," he said and managed to sound regretful. "But I do not feel that the wife of someone who has brought such shame to our school should be giving the other students the valedictorian speech. Given your husband's actions and the recent theft of an exam from the tutor centre from one of your students, I no longer think that you are the one for the job."

Haley took a deep breath trying to calm herself down as she knew she would not get anywhere with Principal Turner by losing her cool. "Those two things were not my fault. I have worked really hard to get here. It's just not fair for me to not to be valedictorian because of what other people have done."

"I'm sorry Haley," Principal Turner repeated. "I know this seems unfair but my decision is final."

Haley searched Principal Turner's eyes for any sign that she could change his mind and finding none; she stood up and calmly walked out of his office. Inside, she was fuming. She felt like everything that she had worked for had just gotten ripped away from her. She could think of no one else to blame than Nathan and Brooke and in that moment, she had never hated two people as much as she hated them.

* * *

"Well, well, if it isn't the Queen Slut herself," a voice said behind Brooke as she rifled through her locker.

"What do you want Peyton?" Brooke asked Peyton irritated. After all that had happened, the last thing Brooke wanted was to get into yet another fight with her former best friend.

"I just want to know how you get to sleep with my ex boyfriend then try to move in on my current one, whom by the way you broke up with, and yet keep telling yourself that you are a good person."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I am not really sure what you are talking about Peyton and honestly, I don't have time for this." She tried to move past her but Peyton grabbed her arm.

"Lucas broke up with me last night. He told me that he wasn't sure whether he was still in love with you. Are you happy now?"

Brooke took a minute to process what Peyton had just said. She could not believe that after everything that her and Lucas had gone through ending with her breaking up with him because she was sure that he and Peyton belonged together that he would break up with Peyton because of remaining feelings for her.

"Of course you are happy. Congratulations Brooke. You won."

Brooke shook her head. "I'm sorry Peyton, that he hurt you. I know how it feels like to have your heart broken by Lucas Scott."

"Oh please," Peyton scoffed. "I saw you dancing with him at Prom. This is exactly what you wanted. You have always wanted what's mine. That's why you slept with Nathan when he was my boyfriend and why you went after Lucas despite knowing that it was me he wanted."

Brooke looked at Peyton in bewilderment. "You are kidding right? This coming from the girl who went after Lucas, not once but twice when I was with him. Why do you even care about Nathan? All your relationship ever was, was a string of one night stands."

"Hmm, describes your relationship with every guy in Tree Hill."

"Except one," Brooke said softly. "The one guy that I ever fully let in, you just had to have. You were my best-friend and you knew how much Lucas meant to me and you still went after him anyway."

"Well now you have gotten your revenge. I'm love with Lucas and he wants you. So you can go ahead and have him but you and me, we're done. As far as I am concerned, we were never friends."

"Maybe you are right," Brooke agreed sadly. "I made a huge mistake with Nathan Peyton but I would have done anything for you. But our friendship has always been about me being there for you and you have never truly been there for me when it really mattered." Brooke paused to wipe away an unexpected tear. "I liked being your friend because I thought I could help you past all your grief and loneliness and one day maybe you would be able to be a good friend back. Now I know that I can't save you so yeah, you are right, you and me are done. We're done hurting each other, we're done being whatever we were, we're just done."

Peyton looked at the girl she had called her best-friend for ten years and felt like she was seeing her for the first time. Though her make up was a little runny, Brooke still looked great on the outside but there was no dimpled smile or bitchy façade. Peyton had expected Brooke to at least look triumphant about her breakup with Lucas but Brooke just looked lonely and sad. "Brooke,"

"No. I'm done Peyton," she said and with that, she walked around and away.

Peyton stood rooted to the floor, facing the spot that Brooke had just left and her eyes welled up with tears as a huge sense of loss suddenly engulfed her.

* * *

Brooke walked outside blindly as she struggled to wipe away the tears now freely falling down her face. She could not believe that after ten years of friendship with Peyton that it was truly, finally over.

"Haley," she found herself yelling as she spotted her limping towards the parking lot. The other girl did not turn around and Brooke found herself running after her. She wasn't sure what she was going to say but she felt a sudden urgent need to talk to the girl she had come to consider her best-friend in the past few months. When Haley realized that Brooke was going to catch up to her, she whirled around to face her. She had on such an intense look of pure loathing that a stunned Brooke stopped and took a step back unconsciously.

"I don't want to talk to you Brooke," Haley hissed.

"I know you are mad at me but I just wanted to see if you were okay. Have you talked to Nathan?"

Haley's eyes narrowed dangerously at the mention of her husband's name. "Don't talk to me about Nathan. He is none of your business."

Brooke was temporarily at a loss of words to say as she had never seen Haley so angry before. "He's my friend."

Haley took a step towards Brooke and before Brooke could even process what was happening, Haley had slapped her.

Brooke brought a shaky hand to her stinging cheek, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

Haley did not look sorry. "Stay away from me and stay away from Nathan," she said and continued walking toward the parking lot leaving Brooke standing by herself, tears rapidly falling down her face.

* * *

"_It's over_." The two words had been repeating themselves over and over in Nathan's head since he had left his Mother's house which he had been sharing with Haley until half an hour ago. After the fight that he had just had with her, Nathan was no longer sure that they would be sharing a house or anything else for that matter anymore.

"_I don't want to hear it." Those were the first words that Haley said to her husband when she got home and saw him sitting in the living room, obviously waiting for her._

"_I am so sorry Haley," Nathan said anyway, despite the warning. "What happened with Principal Turner? You weren't in trouble, were you?"_

_Haley laughed. It was a bitter laugh with no humor behind it. "In trouble? Haley James, in trouble, unheard of, or at least it was until I became Haley James Scott."_

_Nathan stuck his hands in his pockets unsure of what to do. He had never seen his wife look so angry and Nathan didn't know what to say to make it better. "I am so sorry Haley that I got us into this mess."_

"_All you ever are Nathan is sorry and I'm sick of it." Haley sat down on a chair and put her head in her hands. When she brought her face up again, she was crying._

"_Haley," Nathan made a move towards her but she stopped him with her hands and he sat back down._

"_I can't do this anymore Nathan."_

_A bad feeling started creeping into Nathan's gut. "Do what?"_

_Haley pointed her finger back and forth between her and Nathan. "This. Us. It's just too hard."_

_Nathan swallowed past the large lump forming in his throat. Haley's words had caught him off guard. Despite all their problems he hadn't considered that she would want out of their marriage. "But we were doing better."_

_Haley shook her head. "Everyday I think that I'm starting to heal a little bit then something else comes up and rips my world apart. I just, I can't keep doing this."_

"_We are married Haley. We made vows, for better or for worse. We can't just quit because things have gotten bad." He was practically begging now but he was desperate for her to understand that his world was falling apart too and he wasn't sure that he could make it if he lost her._

"_Don't try and make me feel bad Nathan. I don' think there was anything in our vows about staying with your husband if he was responsible for the death of your child."_

_Tears pricked Nathan's eyes and he struggled not to let them flow. He looked at the girl sitting across from him and felt like he barely recognized her. Nathan had known that losing their child had changed Haley but he hadn't really realized how much until now. Haley wasn't the same girl who had stood in front of their family and friends and promised to love him forever. Sadness and despair had now given way to anger and as Nathan looked into her bloodshot eyes, he realized that they no longer seemed to hold any love for him. "So this is it? We are just going to end like this?"_

_Haley didn't hesitate at all before answering. "Yeah. It's over." She looked so sure and Nathan just wanted to shake her or kiss her and remind her of everything that they had shared so that she would longer want to throw it away but he was just so tired and he wasn't sure he could make her feel the things he wanted her to feel anymore. He suddenly felt like he was suffocating and he hastily got up and headed for the door. "I need some air." Haley didn't even acknowledge him as he opened and shut the door. _

_Once outside Nathan broke into a run. He wasn't sure where he was going but maybe if he ran fast enough, he could outrun Haley's words in his head._

Nathan slowed down as he came upon a familiar house. He hadn't been able to forget what just happened and now in addition to the emotional exhaustion from the day, he was exhausted physically from his run as well. Nathan walked up the steps of the house and ran the doorbell. A minute later the door swung open. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm doing here. It's just that things have sort of fallen apart and I could use a friend."

Brooke nodded. "Me too. Come in."


	11. Suddenly Everything's Changed

_Hey! Hey! You! You!_

_I don't like your girlfriend_

_No way! No way!_

_I think you need a new one_

The song on the radio alarm blared causing Brooke to thrust one arm out angrily and forcefully yank the alarm clock from the wall.

A strong, muscular arm encircled her from behind. "You always this grumpy in the morning?"

Brooke tensed as she remembered where she was and what she'd done or more accurately what they'd done.

Nathan felt her tense up but didn't release her, choosing instead to bring his chin into her neck. "Who sets their alarm clock for a Saturday anyway?"

Brooke shifted out of his arm and turned around to face him. "It's an automatic alarm, I forgot to turn it off," she defended with a pout.

"I got you to look at me." He smiled and kissed her. It was slow and sweet and Brooke found herself responding without a second thought. "Hi."

She smiled back, still against his lips. "Hi." Pulling back, she studied Nathan. He looked relaxed and calm, a great departure from the way he had looked when he had shown up at her door. She reached a hand up to his face and stroked it gently. "What are we doing Nathan?" she asked him the question that she had asked him last night as he began what had led them to where they were this morning.

* * *

"_What are we doing Nathan?" she asked as she pushed him away from her. He had just kissed her and though she had at first reciprocated the kiss, reality had just set in._

_He had shown up hours earlier looking just as miserable as she had felt. She had offered him a drink and he'd readily agreed. Over a couple of drinks, he had told her the story of how his and Haley's marriage seemed to be over and she had told him of her run ins with both Peyton and Haley that day._

"_So you and Peyton are really not friends anymore?" Nathan asked._

"_Yeah, I think it is about time too. The way me and Peyton have hurt each other," she took a sip of her drink and turned away from him. "It's for the best that we are no longer in each others lives"_

_Nathan took Brooke's hand. "I've known you and Peyton for as long as I can remember and I know that you have had your ups and downs but you were a good friend Brooke."_

_She turned to face him then. "And you were a good husband."_

_It was his turn to look away. _

"_You were Nathan. I saw you and Haley together and you made her happy." Brooke said the words with conviction because she believed them to be true and she hoped that she could get through to Nathan. _

"_She keeps telling me that I was responsible for the death of our child."_

"_What? Haley wouldn't say that." Brooke knew that Haley was still hurting over her loss but she couldn't believe that Haley would say those words to her own husband._

"_She did." His voice was broken and Brooke had never seen him look this before. He looked even worse than he had right after the accident. Apparently for Nathan and Haley, instead of healing, the cracks in their hearts were just getting bigger with time._

"_Nathan," she said as she moved closer to him. "You made a mistake but you had no way of knowing that Dante would try and run you over and that Haley would get hurt instead. It wasn't your fault."_

_When Nathan faced Brooke, she was shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I just can't get over it Brooke. I keep having these nightmares about the accident and Haley blames me. It's just so hard."_

_Brooke felt her heart breaking and she raked her mind for something to say to make this better for Nathan. She had had a lot of experience comforting people after her ten year friendship with Peyton. Peyton was always in some sort of breakdown or other and Brooke was always been there to pick up the pieces. It was different with Nathan though. They had just started being real friends and she didn't know how to help him in what was probably going to be the roughest period of his life. She hugged him and hoped her arms would offer him the comfort that she couldn't find with words._

_He hugged her back tightly and they stayed like that for a while, his silent tears soaking her shoulder._

_Finally pulling away he said, "I shouldn't have said all that stuff to you."_

_He was closing down and she could see it. She was so much like him that she could tell exactly how he was thinking. She imagined that he now felt vulnerable and exposed and he was regretting showing so much of himself to her. He had probably ever only let Haley in this far and look how that had turned out. Brooke understood how he was feeling completely. After letting Lucas in and having him break her heart, she had sworn that she would never let anyone that far in again. "You can always talk to me Nathan. I know it's hard to believe it now but you can trust me."_

_Nathan looked her and saw that she was being genuine. A part of him wanted to keep confiding in her but he'd already said so much. He nodded and looked away._

_Brooke kept her gaze on him. Clearly he was done sharing for the night. "Okay we don't have to talk about it anymore."_

"_Thanks," he said relieved._

"_How about another drink?" she asked gesturing to his empty cup._

_He nodded and she grabbed their cups and went to the kitchen to refill them. When she returned, she found him where he'd been sitting before, his head in his knees. Sitting down on the table in front of him, she put down their drinks and brought his face up so that she was looking at him. The tears were back in his eyes. "Nathan," she began and stopped, again unsure of what to say to ease his pain. She moved her body closer and put her hand on his face. He caught her hand and linked it with his leaving it on his cheek._

_Maybe it was the way that he was holding her hand against his face or maybe it was the way that he was looking at her but suddenly Brooke's heart began beating faster and she thought, "Everything has changed between us."_

_A second later, Nathan leaned in and captured her lips with his and then everything did change. The kiss was hesitant and gentle at first but as Brooke began responding, it picked up in intensity. As Nathan massaged Brooke's tongue with his own, something clicked in Brooke's brain. Pushing him away from her, she asked, "What are we doing Nathan?"_

_He looked confused and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I don't know."_

"_Are you drunk?" Brooke asked. Without waiting for an answer, she turned away from him and mumbled under her breath but loud enough for him to hear, "This isn't right."_

_Nathan reached her and spun her around. When her eyes met his, he no longer looked confused but sure. "I'm not drunk," he began softly. "And maybe this is wrong because my marriage just ended less than three hours ago and you just lost both of your best-friends in one day and you are hurting but kissing you felt right. I felt more alive than I have felt in the past two months." He moved closer, bringing her closer to him at the same time. He leaned down but let his lips hover over hers, his eyes locked with hers. Brooke looked into Nathan's deep blue eyes and felt like she could see his soul. He was letting himself be vulnerable again, she could tell. He looked lost and sad but he also looked sure. He was hurting and he needed her tonight and as Brooke looked into his eyes, she realized that she needed him too. Closing the distance between them, she took his mouth into hers. This time there was no gentleness, just urgency and passion. Later as she lay in her bed, Nathan on top of her, they locked eyes again. He was asking her permission with his eyes. Brooke knew it was the last chance to stop things before they got more out of hand than they already were but she could feel him between her legs driving her crazy and he was looking at her so gently and it just felt so right. She nodded and he plunged into her. After, as they lay side by side, neither saying a word, Nathan turned on his side, "Brooke?"_

"_Don't say anything Nathan. I don't want to hear you say that you regret it right now."_

_Nathan grabbed Brooke and kissed her. "First of I don't think any guy would ever regret having sex with Brooke Davis," he said after he pulled away._

"_You'd be surprised," she muttered thinking of Lucas and the first time they had sex after the basketball game and then Peyton had shown up. She'd refused to see it then but looking back, the regret had been in Lucas's eyes as soon as Peyton had shown up at his door._

"_Second of all," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You are amazing. Wow is really all I can say," Nathan said seriously. They'd had sex before and it had been good but they'd both been drunk, her a lot more than him and it had just been sex. She's passed out right after and he followed soon after. This time was so different in every way starting with the fact that they were both sober and that their feelings for each other had changed. Just how much their feelings had changed was something that neither of them was ready to fully think about right then._

_A soft blush began to creep up Brooke's cheeks. _

"_Are you blushing? Did I just make Brooke Davis blush about sex?" Nathan teased._

_Brooke pushed him away playfully. "I'm not blushing."_

"_Right, then what do you call that pink colour spreading over your cheeks?"_

"_You can call that the after effects of really good sex," Brooke said causing Nathan to laugh. She climbed on top of him then and leaned in to kiss him. "But if you think that was amazing, you haven't seen anything yet."_

_Nathan laughed again and Brooke reveled in the sound. She pushed all thoughts of Lucas, Peyton and Haley and what regrets both her and Nathan might have tomorrow out of her head and allowed herself to get lost in the feeling of Nathan's lips against her neck._

* * *

Brooke's question hung in the air as Nathan tried to figure out what to say. "I don't know," he answered in the same way that he had the night before and Brooke sighed and lay her head back down on the pillow.

"Do you regret it?" she asked softly after a minute. It was a question that she had promised herself that she wouldn't ask as she lay in bed that night with Nathan's arms around her after the second time they had had sex. He had already alluded to the fact that he didn't regret it but now waking up with him and kissing him, Brooke just had to be sure of how he felt.

"No," he answered quickly and confidently. "Why, do you?" he asked suddenly feeling panicked.

A soft smile spread over Brooke's face. "No. Last night was…" she trailed off, wary of saying too much.

"It was exactly what I needed," Nathan said, taking her hand into his.

This time the smile on Brooke's face was wider. "Me too." She scooted closer to Nathan so that her head was laying on his chest. "But we both know that this can never happen again and no one can ever know about this."

Nathan swallowed hard. He knew that she was right, there were too many people who stood to get hurt if he and she were to continue on like this or if anyone was to find out, but the thought of never getting to kiss Brooke again didn't sit quite right with him. "I know."

"What are you going to do about Haley?" Brooke knew that Nathan had been avoiding thinking about his soon to be ex-wife but she felt like that that was something that he needed to face. Last night had been about escaping but it was the morning after and they both needed to face reality.

Nathan shrugged heavily, feeling like a burden had just been returned to his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess she'll get the apartment and I'll stay at my Mom's."

"I don't think it is going to be that easy."

Nathan chuckled dryly. "Probably not. It never is."

"Just so you know, I meant what I said last night, you can talk to me about anything and you can trust me." She sat up then and looked at him. "You've become a really good friend to me and I don't want things to get weird between us just cause we slept together."

"They won't," Nathan promised. "Just because we had sex doesn't mean anything has to change. I mean we had sex before and we were both pretty good at going back to the way things were before."

Brooke nodded as she remembered how it'd been after they had sex at the party.

_She had woken up to find herself naked in a bed at Nathan's beach house alone. Her head was pounding and she couldn't remember how she had ended up in the bed. She had a vague memory of kissing Nathan but she quickly pushed it out of her head, dismissing it as utterly ridiculous. She could guess from her state of undress and how she felt that she had slept with someone but she refused to believe it was Nathan. She didn't see him until that Monday at school and by then he was back with Peyton. She had been talking to Peyton at her locker when Nathan appeared and slung an arm casually around Peyton's shoulder. He barely acknowledged her as he began talking to Peyton. Brooke looked at them talking and thought, "Well he's not acting any different. Either he is really good at faking or it didn't happen." For her sanity, Brooke chose to believe the latter. "Hey asshole," she said pushing him away from Peyton. "We were having a conversation."_

"_Why do you have to be such a bitch Brooke?" he asked._

"_Can you two just be civil please?" Peyton pleaded._

_And things were back to normal._

"You are right. Nothing's changed," Brooke agreed though she didn't really believe it. She felt different and Nathan looked different to her but she was having a hard time wrapping her head around what she was feeling. "I guess we should probably get back to the real world, huh?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Maybe we could just put it off for a couple of more hours," Nathan suggested after a minute of silence.

Brooke looked away to hide the smile that formed at her lips. She simply lay back down against Nathan's chest and smiled even wider when Nathan put his arm around her bringing her whole body even closer to his.

They lay like that then, both refusing to think of what the future would bring and both refusing to acknowledge that the fact they were both so comfortable laying like that together was a clear indication that things had changed.


	12. Because

**Author's Note**: I know that it has been a really long time since I updated and I'm sorry. I had this chapter planned out before the last two chapters but I always knew it was going to be really hard to write and I was right. I liked how it turned out though and I hope you do too and that you can understand what I'm doing. That is if I still have anyone reading which given my long absence might not be the case. Please Review if you are still out there.

* * *

Lucas Scott had been Haley James' best friend for as long as he could remember. He had seen her high and he had seen her low but he had never seen her quite like this before. She was laying in his bed seemingly asleep but Lucas had been watching her for a little while now and it was clear to him from her constant tossing and turning that her sleep was a fitful one. When Haley had come to his house last night looking extremely distressed, the last thing that he had been expecting to hear from her was that her marriage was over. Even after holding her as she cried and listening to her explain why she just couldn't be with Nathan anymore, Lucas still couldn't believe that it really was over between the two of them. While Lucas understood that Haley was hurting and would probably always hurt over the death of her son, he couldn't understand how she could be so willing to end her marriage to the one person who understood just as much how she was hurting. He had tried to reason with her the previous night but she had said in no uncertain terms that her mind was made up and that she needed him to just support her. Because she had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, he stopped pleading his brother's case and offered his bed to Haley for however long she wanted.

For Lucas it wasn't just that it was hard to accept the end of Nathan and Haley's marriage because they were both important to him and he wanted to see them happy; it was also because he felt that if the two of them couldn't make it work then the rest of the world didn't have a chance. Lucas was thinking of his failed relationships with both Peyton and Brooke and as he watched the sleeping girl in his bed, he wondered whether any of them would ever really find lasting happiness.

Haley stirred, opening her eyes slowly and immediately Lucas was by her side. "Hey buddy."

She lifted her mouth up as if to smile but lost the willingness to do so halfway and her mouth dropped down again. "Hey."

Lucas patted her arm comfortingly. "How are you feeling?"

Haley shook her head. "I don't know. It sort of feels like last night wasn't real. That me and Nathan didn't really end our marriage." She brought her hand up to run it through her hair and as she did so, she noticed the band that was missing from her ring finger. Her eyes clouded over and she brought her hand down. "Oh."

Lucas took her hand into his. "I'm sorry Haley." He had said those words to her so many times last night that they felt somewhat empty now but he could think of nothing to say to comfort her. There were other things that he wanted to say, like maybe she should reconsider, that she was making a big mistake when it came to her marriage yet again but he knew none of those things were what she wanted to hear. Because she had been his best-friend for as long as he could remember and because he was failing at all his other relationships, he bit his tongue and decided to be the best friend that he could be. Laying down beside her, he pulled her close and let her cry into his chest. "I'm so sorry Haley," he repeated futilely. "But I'm going to be there whenever you need me."

* * *

Nathan wasn't sure what to expect when he walked into his Mother's house but the sight that greeted him was a surprise. The house looked exactly the same way it had the previous night. The afghan that Haley liked to cover herself with when she was reading was still placed on the arm chair of the couch. Her math book was still on the coffee table beside the cup of tea that she had been drinking before she left for school the previous day. It was as if nothing had changed. Nathan looked around the living room confused. A million thoughts raced through Nathan's head: Had Haley changed her mind? Was that why she hadn't taken any of her things? Because she no longer wanted to end their marriage? A glimmer of hope arose in Nathan and he rushed to their bedroom. "Haley?" _Maybe she was home, maybe she hadn't left at all_. He swung the bedroom door and was half expecting to see her sleeping on the bed they shared. What he saw instead stopped him in tracks. Haley's wedding band was laying on the bedside table looking conspicuously out of place next to the alarm clock. He went closer and picked it up before sinking down onto the bed. Memories came flooding back of when he had placed that wedding band onto her finger not once but twice. He laughed bitterly as he remembered how both times he had thought it would be forever. Without looking he chucked the wedding band with all his might out the bedroom door. Letting out a strangled sob, he put his head in his hands and began to rock back and forth.

"Nathan," a soft voice said from the doorway.

He jerked his head up at the voice, surprised since he hadn't heard her approach. Haley was standing at the door with her ring in her hand. There were circles under her eyes and her hair was unkempt. He noted that she was wearing the same clothes that she had been last night and he wondered where she had slept.

As if she read his mind, she said, "I slept at Lucas's."

He should have figured. He nodded. "You didn't take any of your things."

"Yeah I know."

He waited for her to say something in the way of an explanation but when she didn't, he asked. "Why?"

She looked away and then back at him. "I don't know. It was too hard. After I took off my ring, I just couldn't bring myself to pack up all my things. It just seemed too final."

Something flickered in Nathan's chest again and he recognized it as hope. His eyes traveled down to the wedding band that she was holding on her index finger and he knew he had to ask. "Does that mean…Are you rethinking ending our marriage?"

"No," came her quick response and Nathan's heart sank again. He got up and began making his way to the doorway where she still stood.

"What are you doing?"

"I really need to not be in the same room as you right now. I'll come back in a couple of hours. That should be enough time for you to get your things."

As he tried to move past her, she noticed his red eyes though his head was hung low. Grabbing his arm, she said. "Nathan wait, we should talk."

He stopped but didn't turn around to look at her. "About what Haley? How you are giving up on us so easily yet again? How you are completely ruining my life for the second time?"

Haley let her hand drop down from his arm at his words. It wasn't just what he'd said, it was the intensity of the way he had said it. When she'd left the first time, to go on tour with Chris, he had been angry and though he had given her an ultimatum, she hadn't really believed that their marriage would be over. It was in his voice now though that after this night, if he left and she packed up her things, there would be absolutely no going back. She watched Nathan's shoulders which were beginning to shake and without thinking of what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She wasn't sure what she was apologizing for but she just wanted his shoulders to stop shaking. He didn't turn around for a full minute with which her arms remained around him until his shoulders stopped moving up and down.

"What are you doing Haley?" He was facing her now, dark blue eyes boring into hers and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she could see the boy that she had married not once but twice.

"I don't know," she whispered.

As Nathan stared at her, he thought once more how he could not recognize the girl in front of him. Before he had always been able to tell what she was thinking, how she was feeling but right now he had no idea what was running through her mind.

"I don't want you to go."

It was so soft and unexpected that Nathan wasn't quite sure that he had heard her right.

"What?"

"I don't want you to go," Haley repeated, a little more strong and sure this time.

Her statement should have made Nathan happy but all it did was confuse him. "A few minutes ago you were telling me that you didn't think us ending things was a mistake and now you are telling me that you don't want me to go. I don't understand what is going on with you."

"I don't know what's going on with me either." She let out a sigh and walked over to the bed. Nathan watched her perplexed as she sat down on the bed and started twirling her ring around her finger. Realizing that she wasn't going to say anything more, he went over and joined her on the bed. As he sat down next to her, he realized that she was crying though she wasn't making any noise.

"I shouldn't have left this here the way I did," she said, her eyes fixed on the ring. "It's just sometimes I feel like I hate you and I just want to hurt you."

The words were so unexpected that their impact was all the more stronger and Nathan felt like Haley had literally just sharply twisted the knife in his heart that she'd stuck there the previous night.

She turned to face him. "I'm sorry. I know how that sounds but you have to understand that I am hurting all the time now Nathan."

"And you don't think I am? Haley, you are not the only one who lost a child." His voice was loud, fighting against the lump rising in his throat.

Haley nodded, seemingly not taken back by the tone in his voice. "I know. It's just that he was in me Nathan. I could feel him and now I just feel empty. It's wrong but sometimes it's just easier to hate you than to deal with that empty feeling inside of me."

"Haley," Nathan began then closed his mouth as he choked on the rising lump. "I don't know what to say. I am so sorry. I've said it before and I will say it again but it doesn't change anything." He paused then forced himself to say the next words. "I should go. I'll come back after you have finished packing up your things." He made a move to stand up but Haley grabbed his hand with such force that she brought him down again.

"If you walk out that door then everything will be over for good between us. Don't go."

"Haley, you are not making sense. I thought that is what you wanted. For God's sake, you just told me that you hated me."

"I don't hate you Nathan." Her voice was soft but sure. "Sometimes I get so upset that I want to hate you but I don't. I'm just sad." She looked so miserable that Nathan had to look away.

"But I'm a large part of why you are sad Haley. Because you blame me for what happened with Dante. I don't see how me staying is going to help."

"Because," her voice trembled. "Because even after everything I still love you and I think I would be sadder if you weren't around."

Nathan forced himself to look back at her. He'd dreamt of Haley taking him back and admitting that she'd make a mistake but in his mind it wasn't like this. Her reason for him wanting to say was hardly the stuff of great romance. A part of Nathan's head was screaming that things between them had just fallen apart too much and there just weren't enough pieces to pick them up. Another part was telling him that this was Haley, the girl he had married twice and they both owed it to their marriage to give it a try. Because she was looking at him like he was her last chance at survival and because Nathan couldn't really picture the alternative, he took the hand still on her index finger of her right hand and placed it on the appropriate finger. "Okay I'll stay."

She smiled up at him and he noted that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Nevertheless, he bent his head down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. He noted the lack of warmth in the kiss and his mind briefly wandered to another pair of lips that he had recently been kissing. The guilt was immediate and overwhelming and he stiffened. Haley beside him didn't seem to notice as she took his hand in hers.

"Thanks Nathan," she said. "I'll try to be better."

"Me too," he mumbled. Because he had just agreed to be better for his wife, Nathan pushed all thoughts of a certain brunette haired beauty out of his head and tried to find the hope and joy that had been in him earlier at the thought of reconciling with Haley.


	13. We Bind or We Break

**A/N**: Please Review.

* * *

"So you and Haley are back together?"

Nathan shot up from the water fountain he was drinking from as he immediately recognized the voice. "Brooke!" he exclaimed entirely surprised at her presence by his side. He hadn't see or talked to her since he'd left her house on Saturday afternoon. That wasn't to say that he had not thought about seeing or calling her, because he had, a lot more than he should have been given his reunion with his wife. He'd wondered though what Brooke would think and how she would react when she found out. He'd wanted to be the one to tell her but judging from her sentence it was too late for that now.

"How did you find out?" he stuttered.

"I saw you two at her locker earlier."

"I'm sorry; I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Brooke shrugged. "Relax Nathan, you don't owe me an explanation. Haley's your wife. This is good news."

Nathan searched Brooke's face for a hidden meaning to her words, a sign that she was mad at him beneath her smiling face and kind words but he found no such sign. "But you and I…"

"Nathan," she silenced him. "Friday night was, well it was pretty great but we both knew that it couldn't happen again. You are back with Haley who you belong with and I could not be happier for you."

"You mean that?" he asked incredulous.

She flashed him a dimpled smile. "Of course. You've become such a good friend to me Nate. I want you to be happy. You deserve it."

_Happy? Was that he was with Haley? Lately it was becoming hard to tell. _"Thanks Brooke, that means a lot."

She cocked her head sideways and smiled at him. "Who knew?"

"What?" he asked as he noted the twinkle in her eye.

"That you were going to become my best-friend one day Nathan Scott." At the look on his face, she laughed. "Oh! Is that weird that I think of you as my best-friend now?"

Nathan shook his head. He thought of how Brooke and him seemed to gravitate towards each other lately and how they just perfectly understood the other. "No, not at all."

They stood there for a minute smiling stupidly at each other then the bell rang breaking the spell. "I better go. See you later new best-friend."

"Brooke wait," Nathan called grabbing her hand. "I am doing the media press release at the gym this afternoon, you know taking responsibility for what I did with Dante."

Brooke gave the hand that was still in hers a squeeze. "I'll be there."

Nathan exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

She smiled and squeezed his hand again. "Always."

Later in the day, as Nathan was standing outside of the gym with Haley next to him on one side and his brother on the other, Lucas asked, "Are you ready for this?" His stomach felt tight and he was sure that he was going to throw up but he nodded. Haley took his hand and squeezed it but it did little to calm his nerves. Inside the gym, just before his trembling hand took the microphone, his eyes locked with a pair of deep green ones and only then did he feel like he could speak. If he hadn't been sure before, he was sure then, somewhere along the way Brooke Davis had become his best-friend.

* * *

Ever since Lucas could remember, basketball had always been able to make him feel better. No matter what was bothering him, Lucas always knew that once he had a ball under his hand, his feet on the cement of the River Court, he would feel better. Today, however, basketball did not seem to be doing the trick. The truth was that he had been in a foul mood since his breakup with Peyton. Since Lucas had discovered that his feelings for Brooke weren't quite as over as he had thought, he had been feeling conflicted and angry. His mood hadn't been improved upon after learning that his brother and best-friend had ended their marriage. While he had felt brief joy at learning they had reconciled, seeing his brother admit to throwing games for Dante and his subsequent harassment by the press had resulted in the evaporation of his brief joy. To Lucas it seemed like everything was out of control; his feelings, his life, his brother's life; and there was nothing he could do about it. If there was one feeling that Lucas really hated, it was feeling helpless.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Peyton," he sighed as the person behind the question approached.

Peyton fought back bitterness at the clear lack of joy in Lucas's voice at the sight of her and managed a wry smile. "Well don't get too excited. It's just me."

"Sorry Peyton. It's just been a bad day." "_Actually it's been a bad year_," Lucas thought but decided not to voice that thought given that the person he was talking to was the one he had spent half of his year with.

"Yeah I was at Nathan's press conference. Is he okay?"

"He will be. He has Haley." After the words left his mouth, Lucas was surprised at how sure he sounded. As he remembered how both Haley and Nathan looked as they fled from the crowds of reporters dying to get one more statement out of the fallen hero, Lucas wasn't quite sure that either Haley or Nathan really would be okay.

"Yeah he has Haley," Peyton echoed and Lucas noticed the wistfulness in her voice. Immediately he knew that she was about to turn this into something about them. Proving just how well Lucas knew her, Peyton moved closer to Lucas. "What about you Lucas? Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah I will be." He tried to be convincing but he could tell that he had failed from the way that Peyton furrowed her eyebrow.

"Lucas, I wish that you would just let me in."

Lucas chuckled mirthlessly as he remembered how that was exactly the same thing that Brooke had repeatedly asked of him and which he seemingly couldn't give her. She had thought then that it was because his heart belonged to Peyton. Now Peyton was asking him the same thing and Lucas was sure that he couldn't give her what he wanted because his heart belonged to Brooke. "Peyton we broke up. I just need some space."

Peyton swallowed the hurt and reached out a hand to Lucas. "I know. I'm not asking for us to get back together but I still want to be your friend Luke."

Lucas shook his head. If he wanted to have a real chance at winning back Brooke, he knew he could not maintain a friendship with Peyton. "I'm sorry Peyton but I can't be your friend right now."

Her face fell and try as she might she could not help the tears that filled her eyes. "This is about Brooke."

It wasn't a question and she didn't expect him to answer but the way he looked away was enough confirmation for her.

Peyton looked at Lucas and felt a strong wave of regret. This was the boy that she had thrown away a ten year friendship for. At the time she had been sure that he was worth it; that he'd make up for the loss of a best-friend by loving her for the rest of her life. Now the same boy was saying that he couldn't even be her friend because of the girl that she had so carelessly thrown away and Peyton realized that she had never been so completely alone.

"She won't take you back you know." Peyton wasn't sure why she said it but once it was out she realized that it was true; Brooke would never take someone back who had caused her such repeated heartbreak. "So I guess you and me are both going to end up alone."

Lucas flinched and Peyton felt a small satisfaction that she'd inflicted some damage on the boy that had just broken her heart. "I'll see you Lucas."

"Yeah, see you," he mumbled at her retreating back. Standing alone in the middle of the River Court with a basketball in his hand, Lucas realized that he was right where he had started: alone, wanting a girl that he couldn't have.


	14. Some of Us, We Mend

**A/N:** It's only a quick update but it is the result of a break in a long writer's block so I'm happy. Are you? Reviews are inspiration. 

* * *

Two weeks after the scandal of Nathan Scott, the fallen hero of Tree Hill, life for the once close group of Tree Hill High seniors was slowly getting back to normal. Or what had to come to be normal for the group: fragile friendships and underlying tension.

Hayley and Nathan were continuing their life as a married couple, picking up the pieces every day from too many breaks and shatters. Lucas was back to trying to be friends with Brooke and Peyton. While both girls were now both talking to him, he wasn't naïve enough to think that he'd managed to mend the rifts he'd caused. Peyton and Brooke were still not talking and while Haley was being civil to Brooke, she had made it clear that she still harboured a lot of anger and resentment at her.

Things were better for and between all of them than they had been for awhile but if they were been honest, none of them were really happy. It was a week before graduation and as Nathan stood outside looking at the happy students surrounding him, many of them ready to embrace their future, he wished he had some of their confidence of where his life would take him after he said goodbye to Tree Hill High forever in one week.

"Apple for your thoughts?"

Nathan turned and smiled at his brunette friend. Ever since the scandal had broken, she had been his constant companion. He confided in her when he found he couldn't in Haley and she listened, offered him unsolicited advice and her endless enthusiasm which he would have found annoying coming from anyone else, even Haley, but from her, he appreciated. "Since when do you eat apples?"

She grinned. "I know. I decided I needed to watch what I was eating more carefully if I want to look super hot at grad so I bought like a million of these but turns out, me, not such an apple fan."

He laughed and yanked the apple from her hand. "You are one weird kid Davis but works for me."

She pouted playfully. "Hey, it was supposed to be a trade. Your thoughts, my apple."

Swallowing the bite he had already consumed, he looked at her seriously. "You know, same old."

"No word from any more of those schools that Whitey talked to for you?"

Nathan shook his head. A week ago, Nathan had swallowed his pride and pleaded for Whitey to talk to some of the lesser known schools to convince them to let Nathan play basketball for them now that Duke had rescinded its offer. Most of them had come back with a no, and the rest of them Nathan had yet to hear from. 

"I'm sorry Nate but don't give up hope yet," Brooke comforted.

"I know, I'm trying not to but Haley is on my ass about finding a back up, she keeps talking about me finding some job in a factory with Skillz's dad."

"You thinking about it?"

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, I don't know what else to do. We need the money and now that Haley has already given up her dream school because of me, maybe it is time that I gave up on some of my dreams,"

Brooke was silent then after a minute she said, "I know that you want to do right by Haley but I think you should make any decision carefully and not just because you feel pressured by her."

"She's my wife Brooke. She gets a say in what decisions I make." Nathan said, frustration underlying his words.

Brooke looked up at him, her face cold and said "I know that."

Nathan jammed his free hand in his pocket. "I'm sorry. That wasn't really directed at you."

"I know. And I'm going to take a chance at annoying you again but you should really talk to Haley about some of this. As you said, she is your wife and maybe if you just explained your fears and dreams like you do with me, then maybe she could see what I see."

"And what's that?"

"That your dreams are too big for some factory and just because you have been knocked down a few times doesn't mean that you both can't make your dreams a reality."

Nathan seemed to be contemplating Brooke's words then he burst out laughing.

"What?" Brooke questioned confused.

"Wow, I didn't think it was possible that you could become even more Little Miss Sunshine."

Reluctantly, a laugh escaped Brooke's mouth and she hit Nathan with her bag causing his apple to fall to the ground. "Ha!" she cried. "You can keep the apple and your thoughts too," she said trying to sidestep him.

Still laughing, he grabbed her by the waist and started tickling her. "Oh come on Brooke. I'm just teasing."

She was smiling as she continued to hit him with her bag and tried to break free. She was unsuccessful and her gaspish giggles filled the school courtyard.

From their lunch table, Lucas, Peyton, Haley, Bevin, Skillz and Fergie looked up at the sound. Haley, who was seated beside Peyton, looked at Lucas across the table. There was a question in her eyes that she didn't dare voice out loud but that Lucas recognized immediately. It was the same one he was thinking. _Should I be worried? _He shook his head at Haley.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Bevin wondered out loud.

"I'm sure it's just Brooke being Brooke." Lucas stated.

It was supposed to be a light, reassuring statement but it did nothing to soothe Lucas or Haley's fears.

As for Peyton, she raised an eyebrow as she looked at the blue eyed boy across the table from her then at the two still laughing and playing across the courtyard. She could tell Lucas was worried from the look on his face and the doubt she'd heard in his voice. As she studied Brooke, she suddenly felt certain that Lucas had reason to be concerned. Brooke looked carefree and happy, unaware that she was the center of attention right now. The fact that Brooke's laughter was genuine and she didn't notice that anyone was watching her indicated to Peyton that all of Brooke's walls were currently down. Peyton hadn't seen Brooke like this since the end of her relationship with a certain blue eyed Scott brother. Her walls which Lucas had worked so hard to bring down only to be the cause of them going back up had been firmly in place even with Chase. Now it seemed that another Scott brother with blue eyes of a much darker hue was bringing the walls down which Peyton surmised could only mean trouble for the two people seated at her table watching the pair across the yard just as intently as her.


	15. We Were Better Then Or Is It Now?

* * *

Try as she may, Haley could not get the image of Nathan and Brooke frolicking around out of her mind. As she lay in her bed with Nathan's arms around her, she struggled to enjoy the feeling and forget the scene but found herself unable to push the image out of her head. That night she had been unable to figure out what exactly about the scene was bothering her. The next morning at breakfast, sitting across the table from Nathan, watching him wolf down his eggs and potatoes while reading a sports magazine, Haley figured it out. What bothered her about the exchange that she'd witnessed between Brooke and Nathan was how relaxed and free they'd both looked. In that moment, laughing and running around with Brooke, Nathan had looked like the boy she'd forgotten he was. Her and Nathan had a life together; they slept together, they ate together and they discussed their future life like they were going to be together for the rest of it. It now occurred to Haley that perhaps neither her nor Nathan were really_ living_ this life they had created together, they were merely going through the motions, convincing themselves that this life was normal and if it wasn't, then at least it was bound to get better.

"What?"

Startled, Haley looked up to find Nathan looking up at her, blue eyes questioning. "Huh? I didn't say anything."

He smiled. "You were staring."

Feeling embarrassed, Haley mumbled an apology, her eyes down.

Nathan laughed easily. "No worries but obviously something is on your mind. What's up?"

Haley searched her mind. Where could she start. Deciding to bite the bullet, she asked the question at the heart of everything. "Are you happy?"

He didn't hesitate before answering. "Of course I am." He put his fork and knife down, devoting all his attention to Haley. "Why are you asking? Aren't you?"

"No, I am," Haley reassured Nathan. She bit her lip, struggling to fight against the torrent of jumbled thoughts that were rushing to get out, wanting their voice to be heard. Haley knew she had to be careful, her current peaceful co-existence with Nathan was precarious and if she didn't want to plunge them back into war, she needed to ask the right thing. "It's just that I'm not sure you are really here Nathan, with me, more than physically." She watched his eyes turn cool and when he spoke his voice was clipped.

"I'm here Haley. You are the one who's left me more than once, I've always been here."

Unsure of what to say in light of his comment which hit home for Haley, she was silent.

Nathan sighed. "Look I know things aren't perfect right now but we're both trying and things are going to get better."

Haley thought of all the times that Nathan had said that to her in the past few months and wondered how long they could both keep saying the same thing without realizing that better was never going to be good.

"I'm here Haley," Nathan repeated. "And I want to keep trying if you do."

Right now Haley was confused about a lot of things but one thing she was sure of was that life without Nathan was certainly a life she wasn't ready to face. Hearing him reaffirm his commitment to her reminded her of this. "I do," she said firmly.

Nathan smiled. "Good."

Haley noticed that the smile was one of civility, nothing like the joyous one he shared with Brooke.

Unaware of his wife thoughts, Nathan pushed his chair out and said, "I better get going. I have to find my history book before first period. I think I left it at Brooke's.

Haley watched Nathan put away his dishes with no awareness of the turmoil that Haley was feeling, made worse by his mention of Brooke. After Nathan had shut the door after mumbling a "See you Later" Haley wondered if perhaps Nathan had also left his heart at Brooke's.

* * *

"Hey Lucas," Brooke greeted the boy at her locker with a smile but a clear question in her eyes.

"I guess you are wondering what I'm doing. Truth is that I was waiting for you. I was hoping you would have lunch with me."

Brooke adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and looked around uneasily. "Uhh-"

"Oh come on. Don't think of an excuse to turn me down. It's just a meal Brooke."

Brooke looked down the hall and then back at Lucas contemplating her answer. Lucas was right, it was just a meal, but lately she had been spending most lunches with Nathan and it seemed weird to have lunch with his brother instead. Lucas was looking at her with open hope and after stealing one last look down the hallway and seeing no sign of Nathan, she decided it would be silly to turn down Lucas' offer for lunch plans with Nathan which had never been formalized. Besides Lucas seemed to genuinely trying to be her friend and given their history, the least she could do was also put in a bit of effort. "Alright. But does this mean the soggy meat loaf from the cafeteria is on you?"

Relieved, Lucas laughed easily. "Actually I got something better." He held up a large brown bag that Brooke had been too preoccupied to notice that he had. "I took a chance and picked up some lunch from my Mom's café during my free block."

Brooke's face lit up. "What is it?"

Lucas grinned proudly. "Chicken with havarti on focaccia."

The smile that she graced him with was the first full one that she'd given in him in a while and Lucas basked in the warmth of it. "My favourite. Thanks Luke."

He nodded, trying to remain nonchalant in the face of the joy seeping into his bones. "Want to eat outside under the trees?" he asked casually and held his breath. It was a loaded question, he knew, because he and Brooke had spent many lunches and afternoons under a certain tree when they had been dating. He wanted to spend time there again with her and hopefully remind her of happier times but he was aware that she was much less willing to take a path down memory lane.

To his surprise and relief, she simply nodded. "Sure, it's a nice day." and began to walk outside. He followed her readily, a large smile taking over his face.

The smile stayed there all during lunch as him and Brooke maintained a light and easy conversation. Several times she would be talking and Lucas would have to force himself to not stare. She looked a lot happier than she'd looked in recent months and Lucas silently wondered what the reason for the change was. When she mentioned that in three weeks, she would be taking off to L.A for a Vogue summer internship, Lucas' heart dropped. He credited the internship as the source of Brooke's new happiness but realized that he had less time than he had thought to win her back. He swallowed his unhappiness and tried to savour hers after he offered a congratulations and she practically beamed at him.

"Maybe I could come visit," he said without thinking it through and immediately regretted it when her smile dropped a few watts. It was clearly too soon for that. Seeking to do damage control, he added "I mean with Nathan and Haley. We could all take a road trip down there and come see you."

It worked and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah that would be so fun. I'd love that."

Lucas fought off the disappointment that she was more excited about the prospect of Nathan and Haley, who she was barely talking to at this point, visiting than she was at him visiting. Reluctantly he admitted to himself that he had been the one to mess up and he should be grateful for the fact that she was even starting to let him back into her world.

Lunch went by too fast for Lucas and before he knew it, the lunch bell had rung and Brooke was gathering up her things. He stood up unwillingly and offered his hand to hers. She hesitated for just the tiniest of moments and then she took it, letting him help her up. He waited for her to drop his hand but she left it there a minute longer than necessary. His blue eyes trained on her, his heart pounding, unsure of what she was thinking.

Deep green eyes met Lucas' blue and stayed. In that instant Brooke could feel it; that old familiar tugging of her heart as she got lost in Lucas' eyes. The spell of his eyes, the promise of love that they always seem to hold, was something that Brooke had never completely broken free from. Dropping his hand suddenly as if it was a hot coal she stepped slightly away and smiled awkwardly. "Thanks again for lunch. We should probably go back in."

His eyes still trained on her, he agreed and followed as she had already started walking back. A smile was back on his lips, _She's breaking._

Slightly up ahead, Brooke was still trying to regain composure. Peyton's words about Lucas wanting to be with her came back to her and she shuddered. _He's trying to break me and it was working. _

* * *

The sight of Haley at her front door was something that Brooke had not been expecting when she swung the door open. Haley's hand was hanging in the air with a fist poised to knock that she hadn't had to use.

"I guess this is a bad time," she said as she noted Brooke's attire. Brooke was dressed in hot pink short shorts and a grey ribbed tank and Haley found herself annoyed at how fit and effortlessly beautiful Brooke looked even in work out gear and her tone therefore came out a tad spiteful.

Brooke, however, did not seem to notice. "Oh I was just going to go for a run but it can wait." She opened the door and ushered the other girl in.

"Well this is a nice surprise. What's up?" Brooke asked once they were seated in the living room.

Haley felt thrown off by Brooke's warm welcome. Though they were now talking, things were far from good between the two of them but Brooke was acting as if Haley showing up at her house was a normal visit from a friend. If Brooke had any remaining bitterness towards Haley for the harsh words and slap that she had inflicted on her, she was doing a good job of hiding it. Sitting across from Brooke, Haley was at a loss for how to bring up the reason for her visit.

When Haley didn't say anything, Brooke took it upon herself to speak. "Look Haley, I know that you are still mad at me about the test and everything but I hope you know that I told Principal Turner today that it was me who took it."

Haley gasped. Brooke was full of surprises. "What? Why? I wasn't going to tell him."

"I know but I knew that I had to take responsibility for what I did. I needed to clear not just your name but Rachel's too."

"Did he?" she paused not wanting to finish the question. Despite her remaining anger at Brooke, she had no desire to see her held back a year for stealing the test.

Brooke shook her head, a smile on her face. "He didn't expel me and he even agreed to give Rachel her diploma in absentia if she can't make it back before grad."

Haley gave a sigh of relief. "Wow, I didn't know that Principal Turner could be so forgiving."

"I know!" Brooke exclaimed. "But the extremely short skirt and cleavage I was showing may have had something to do with it."

Haley's face turned sour as she remembered her original reason for the visit.

Noticing the look, Brooke said "I was just kidding."

She sounded a bit offended so Haley forced a smile. "I know." Twisting her hands in her lap she tried to find courage to bring up the topic that had brought her to Brooke's house. "Well I'm glad that you told Principal Turner and that you still get to graduate but I didn't come here about the test. I need you to ask you a favour."

"Sure. Anything." Brooke said quickly. She was eager to get back into Haley's good graces. Even after how Haley had treated her, Brooke had to admit that she had missed Haley and with her and Nathan so close now, it would certainly make things easier if her and Haley could return to being as close as they once were.

"I want you to stay away from Nathan." The statement came out rushed in one breath and hung in between them like a death sentence.

Finally Brooke choked out, "What?"

"I want you to-" Haley began to repeat but Brooke stopped her with a shake of her head.

"I heard you. I just don't understand why you are asking me that. He's my friend and I thought you were too." Her voice was tinged with hurt.

"I'm sorry Brooke. I'm trying to trust you and Nathan but it's hard when you two are constantly together while I'm barely talking to both of you."

"Nothing is going on between the two of us Haley. We're just friends."

She nodded. "I know."

"Nathan loves you."

"I know that too." She twisted her hands again and looked up at Brooke. "I realize that it doesn't seem like I'm making sense. I know that Nathan loves me and that right now nothing is going on with you but I can feel Nathan slipping away and though neither of you seem to realize it, it's because of you."

Brooke who could not understand where Haley was coming from repeated her earlier point, "We are just friends."

"Brooke please, just stay away from Nathan. Even if you don't want to, even if you don't understand why I'm asking, please do it for me." Her brown eyes were shiny with tears now. "You say that you want to make things right with all of us again, well this is the way to do it. Do it for me and Nathan."

Brooke took in the sight of the girl in front of her; Haley looked almost desperate and it was then that Brooke understood Haley's fears. She'd been Haley before, with Peyton and Lucas. She'd felt Lucas slipping away, towards Peyton, but instead of fighting for him like Haley was doing, she'd pushed and he'd left. In her mind she argued that this was different, that Peyton had been after Lucas while Brooke would never come between two of the most important people to her. The memory of her and Nathan sleeping together a few weeks ago chose that moment to reappear and she felt a little sick. Her own eyes began filling with tears. "Okay."

"Really? You are going to stay away from him?" Haley's voice was disbelieving. Given her and Brooke's tenuous friendship of late and her burgeoning one with Nathan, Haley hadn't expected Brooke to cave so fast.

"Yeah. I promise." Her voice was whisper soft.

Haley hurled herself at Brooke, giving her a tight embrace. "Thanks Brooke."

Brooke hugged Haley back and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She knew that she had done the right thing; that they would all be better now but there was a sense of loss invading her, taking all joy out of her decision.


	16. Kidding Ourselves

A/N: I would just like to give my sincerest thanks to everyone who has stayed with me through this story. It was my first One Tree Hill fanfiction and has now become my only full length story to date. I really appreciate everyone's reviews which are truly the only reason that I have made it to these many chapters. The end of this story is near. You might not like the next couple of chapters but I promise there is a purpose to all of this drama. One Day It Will Make Sense.

* * *

"You've been avoiding me."

The statement was stated so surely, heavy accusation lacing the words that Brooke was scared to turn around and face the boy that had uttered the words. When she did reluctantly turn around she was faced not with anger like she had been expecting but with confusion and disappointment.

"No I haven't," she mumbled, not willing to look into his eyes, afraid she would break. "I've just been busy. In fact I am late right now." She began to turn back around but he grabbed her and pulled her into an empty classroom.

"What the hell Nathan?" she demanded angrily. Anger was good. It distracted her from Nathan's hurt expression, the hand on her wrist and gave her something to push him away with.

"I haven't talked to you for two days Brooke. You've been avoiding my calls and you haven't met me for lunch for two days." He growled. "What's going on?"

His hand was still gripping Brooke's wrist and his eyes were stormy blue peering into hers and her heart rate began to quicken. She could feel herself breaking, wanting to break her promise to Haley and give him everything. She'd realized it then, after Haley had left, that this thing between her and Nathan had somehow spun out of control. To a point where he had come to mean more to her than she could have ever imagined. The effort that it had taken her to avoid his calls and not to run into him in the past forty eight hours had strengthened her growing idea that her feelings for Nathan's went beyond simple friendship. Looking into his dark blue eyes, his face hard and his grip causing more warm chills than fear, Brooke knew that she had crossed the line with Nathan by far more than just the fact that she had slept with him.

She shrugged carelessly. "I've been busy."

His eyes were boring into her and she forced herself to meet his stare after ensuring that the look in her eyes matched the careless tone of her voice.

"Too busy to answer my calls but you can hang out with Lucas?" There was an underlying jealousy in his words and it sent a shiver down Brooke's spine. Nathan's jealousy had caused a brief joy in her and as soon as her brain classified the feeling, she realized what dangerous territory she was getting into. Nathan was married, if he was just her friend like she kept telling herself, like she had told Haley, then why was he acting jealous over Lucas and why was she happy about that?

If there was one thing that Brooke Davis knew how to do, it was to push people away for the greater good. Brooke therefore decided to take that jealousy in Nathan's voice and run with it.

"I don't have to explain to you who I'm spending time with Nathan but since you seem to think it's your business then I might as well let you know that Lucas and I have been having a lot of fun together. Who knows? We might even get back together." It wasn't all a lie; she had had fun with Lucas lately but was nowhere considering getting back together with him. He seemed to genuinely just want to be her friend and she was letting him but that was it.

Nathan clenched his jaw and stepped away from her. "You are kidding right?"

She shrugged. "I'm not saying that we are back together but it could happen. I mean Lucas is the love of my life." She chose the words because she knew they'd have an impact and only after hearing them out loud, did she realize that she no longer felt that way about Lucas Scott.

Her heart rate began to quicken again. She was no longer in love with Lucas Scott because he had broken her heart. She was no longer in love with Lucas Scott because she could never trust him fully again. She was no longer in love with Lucas Scott because somewhere along the way she had healed and fallen in love with his brother.

Looking up at Nathan, Brooke tried to come to terms with her new found revelation but before she had the chance, Nathan spoke.

"If you get back with Lucas then you are even more of an idiot than everyone thinks you are. When are you ever going to get it? Lucas doesn't love you; you are just a convenient rebound."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Nathan knew he had just royally messed up. "Brooke,"

The look on her face stopped him. For a minute she looked shell shocked like she had just witnessed a tragic event in front of her eyes. In a way she had; it was the death of her and Nathan's friendship. When she regained her composure, she spoke, her voice cool as ice. "Stay away from me Nathan."

"Brooke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"Well I mean it, stay away from me Nathan. You are not my friend anymore."

Nathan had been in this situation many times before. Whenever someone he cared about was mad at him, he couldn't think of a way to diffuse the situation on the spot and often whatever he said made things worse. The last thing that he wanted was Brooke getting even more mad at him so he helplessly walked out of the classroom that he had pulled her into.

After Nathan left, Brooke collapsed into tears. She wasn't crying over what Nathan had said for she knew he hadn't meant it. By now she felt in some ways that she could read Nathan so well it was almost scary. He had said those words to hurt her but only because he was jealous about Lucas. She knew that Nathan was completely in love with his wife but she now saw that Haley had been right; Brooke was starting to pull Nathan away from Haley without either of them realizing it. The whole thing was very reminiscent of what happened with Brooke, Lucas and Peyton. Except Haley wasn't letting go and Brooke wasn't pulling. There wasn't going to be a Brooke and Nathan romance like there had been with Peyton and Lucas. Brooke had effectively just seen to that.

Composing herself, Brooke wiped her tears and walked out of the classroom though with her head hung low.

Standing outside the tutoring center talking to another tutor, Haley James-Scott watched a dejected looking Brooke Davis walk out of the same room that her husband had walked out of a couple of minutes earlier, looking much the same way. Haley could assume from how down both Brooke and Nathan looked that Brooke had kept her word and cut her ties with Nathan. Haley knew she should feel happy; this was what she had wanted. She was sure that this would make thins better. As Haley watched Brooke walk down the hallway with none of her usual cheery strut, Haley couldn't help but feel like she was kidding herself. Things weren't going to get better; in fact maybe she had just made things worse.


	17. Slow Dancing in A Burning Room

_It's not a silly little moment _

_It's not the storm before the calm_

_This is the deep and dying breath _

_Of this love that we've been working on_

Haley had been right. Things had gotten worse after Nathan and Brooke had stopped talking. It had been a little more than a week since their friendship had officially ended and Nathan and Haley's relationship had taken a nose dive. He had been in a foul mood ever since he had returned home from school the day that she had seen coming out of the classroom before Brooke. When her attempts to cheer him up had failed, his foul mood had spread to her as well. They had been fighting for what seemed non-stop up until graduation.

Haley had always imagined graduation would be a really big happy event in her life and this year it should have been. She was valedictorian, something that she had always dreamed of and she was graduating with her husband and best friend by her side. Graduation, however, had paled in comparison to Haley's dream. While she had enjoyed delivering her speech, it was hard to bask in the glory of that when afterwards her husband had stood stiffly by her side, his hand in hers but his eyes looking towards the girl standing next to Haley's best-friend. The whole day of graduation, Haley had had a sick feeling in the pit of stomach. There had been a dinner that was hosted at Karen's house where all of Luke's friends had been invited which included the Rivercourt boys, Peyton and of course Brooke. Knowing that Brooke was going to be there since Lucas seemed to be spending all his free time with the brunette, Haley had tried to get out of it. She'd faked being sick and told Nathan to go ahead to the dinner without her, saying she would get Peyton to drive her home since she wanted "to spend some time with Peyton before she takes off for L.A." Nathan hadn't even hesitated a second before agreeing that it was best if Haley went home with Peyton. And at that moment, the sick feeling had grown tenfold. In the car with Peyton, Haley had burst into tears causing the other girl to pull over alarmed. Haley had spilled the whole story to Peyton, confessing all of her fears over Brooke and Nathan. After listening to her, Peyton had looked thoughtful.

"_So maybe Nathan was getting too attached to Brooke? It was an easy thing to happen which is not to suggest that it was your fault but you were pushing him away. What you need to do now is make sure he knows that you are in this for long haul. He married you Haley, twice. And despite everything, he is still in the marriage. He loves you ; this thing with Brooke is just a phase." _

Peyton had sounded so sure that Haley had changed her mind and decided to go to the dinner after all. It now seemed silly to avoid a dinner which meant so much to Karen who was still mourning over Keith's death just because Brooke was going to be there.

"Nathan is my husband," she'd reminded herself. "Brooke should be the one feeling uncomfortable at dinner." Feeling less insecure after her talk with Peyton, she had walked into Karen's house with a smile. The smile hadn't lasted that long as she had noted the two people absent were Nathan and Brooke. Her eyes which had been watching the door noticed Brooke walk in and ten minutes later Nathan came through the same door. Her mind was going into overdrive when Nathan walked over to her immediately after walking in. He'd kissed her on the cheek and whispered an apology for "being such an ass the last couple of days." Relieved, her mind quieting down its many scenarios, she had given him a light kiss on the lips to indicate that he was forgiven. Nathan had taken her hand into his and this time Haley noted that his eyes stayed firmly on her.

That was the beginning of yet another reconciliation and they were doing alright. Nathan, to her relief, had agreed to take a job with Skillz' dad which would be beginning in the next week now that school was over. She herself had lined up a few students to tutor over summer in addition to her shifts at the café. In the fall she would begin her classes at the junior college while Nathan would continue working at the factory until he found a school that would let him play for them.

Life once again seemed to have worked out for the two of them. Because things were better than they had been for a long time, Haley ignored that uneasy feeling that sometimes crept up suggesting that things weren't quite right. It had happened a few times in the past week and she had pushed it aside. Laying in bed with Nathan beside her, the feeling crept up again and just like she had done so many times, she pushed it aside and snuggled closer to Nathan telling herself that this felt right.

* * *

While Brooke had always been in shape, she had never felt the need to exercise on a daily basis as cheerleading and a good metabolism kept her at least looking fit. In the past few months though, she has found that exercising served as a catharsis from all the constant drama that seemed to fill her life. Instead of getting ridiculously drunk each time she had a bad day, Brooke was running instead.

Her run today had been particular grueling as she had gone faster and further than she usually did. The days since graduation had been particularly tough on Brooke and she was counting down the days until she would leave for her summer internship in L.A. While Brooke had once fought to stay in Tree Hill, this was no longer the place that she wanted to live. There was too much of her past here, too many mistakes and heartbreak and Brooke was ready to start anew.

Rounding up the corner up to Rachel's house, Brooke almost ran into Peyton who was coming out of her car.

"Oops sorry. That was totally my fault," she said.

"It's okay," Peyton assured her with a small smile.

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

A corner of Brooke's mouth went up so that it appeared slightly mocking. "I thought we didn't do that anymore."

Peyton flinched. "Okay I guess I deserved that but relax, I come in peace."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I know about you and Nathan."

Brooke struggled for her face to remain neutral as her breath hitched in her throat. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh come on Brooke. I know that you have feelings for him. I also know that you are staying away from him so that he can focus on his marriage and I wanted to let you know that you are doing the right thing. And I know that it must really suck for you but it's the right thing to do."

Brooke stared at Peyton unable to believe the words the other girl was uttering. "You came here to tell _me _about doing the right thing. You? The same girl who kissed my boyfriend twice. You have the nerve to come here and tell me what I should and shouldn't do. That is unbelievable."

"You're right. I went for Lucas despite knowing what it would do to you because I couldn't ignore what I felt for him. But look how that turned out; we just ended up with three broken hearts. If you went after Nathan, he might give in to you for a while. Haley would be completely shattered and they would probably never be able to recover from that even if months later he decided that he had made a terrible mistake. It would just be like you, me and Lucas and from someone who's been where you are now, I just wanted to let you know that I think you are doing the right thing."

"I don't need you to tell me what the right thing is Peyton. I'm not you, I am not so selfish that I either don't see or don't care how my actions affect those around me. So thanks for attempting to impart your wonderful wisdom on me but I'm sweaty and tired and all I really want to do is soak in the bath so bye."

Peyton watched Brooke's retreating back and that same sense of loss that she seemed to experience whenever she was around her former best – friend returned. "Brooke-" she called out.

There was an impatient look on her face when she turned around. "What now? More wise words?"

"I'm sorry. I love Lucas, I do, but I'm sorry for hurting you. God Brooke, we graduated and I didn't even speak to you once that day. We'd been talking about that day for ten years. I miss you."

Brooke sighed. Peyton had just raised the white flag but Brooke wasn't sure she was ready to drop her weapons. "I miss you too Peyton," she said and watched Peyton smile in relief. "But as you said after Lucas broke up with you, we're done." And Peyton's smile vanished.

"But you forgave Lucas."

"I know but Lucas never hurt me as much as you did. I will never be able to trust Lucas fully again but I can be his friend because I know that despite everything, he cares about me, will never hurt me on purpose and will always be there for me. Truthfully Peyton, I can't say the same about you. When you went after Lucas, you knew exactly what you were doing and how much it would destroy me but you didn't care. And after I've forgiven you so many times, you were so quick to condemn me for one drunken mistake. All we seem to do is bring drama and pain to each other's lives and I can't do that anymore."

"So that's it? We are both going to leave Tree Hill and never talk to each other again?" She sounded confused as though the concept was unfathomable though in reality they hadn't been talking for months.

Brooke shrugged. "Well I hear you are going to be in L.A. for the summer. Who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other." She smiled slightly. "I'll see you Peyton."

Peyton watched the door shut before getting in her car. She knew that she'd see Brooke in L.A. She understood that Brooke mentioning that they would both in the city was her way of giving in a little to being friends again with Peyton. The blonde knew that if she contacted Brooke, that Brooke wouldn't refuse to meet her but that she would never be the one to make the call. It wasn't much but Peyton would take it.

As she drove home, Peyton considered that perhaps she had been wrong about the whole situation with Brooke, Nathan and Haley. Though she had done her best not to show it, Brooke had been looking sad and tired for weeks now. Seeing her now had reminded Peyton of something that she had forgotten. At the dinner at Karen's, Brooke had been all smiles as soon as she had walked in. However, Peyton had caught a glance of Brooke standing in the kitchen, about to take out the pie from the oven. Mouth had mentioned something that he had enjoyed from Haley's valedictorian speech and Haley had mumbled that it was not that great leading Lucas to tease her for her modesty. Nathan had said loudly and proudly "Oh come on Haley, just accept the fact that you are amazing. We all have." It was then that Peyton had caught a glimpse of Brooke in the kitchen. She had frozen for just a second then taken a deep breath and with a shaking arm brought out the pie. After seeing Brooke now, Peyton was left feeling conflicted. While she didn't want to see Haley hurt, she now felt that Brooke deserved some happiness. If Nathan was what Brooke needed and he felt the same way, who was Peyton to get in the way of that? At that moment, Peyton decided that she would stay out of the whole Brooke/Nathan/Haley situation. No more offers of advice to Haley; no more warning Brooke to stay away from Nathan. After all, Brooke only had a few days left in Tree Hill. If her and Nathan couldn't stay away from each other for that long, then there was nothing that anyone including her could do to save Haley and Nathan's marriage.

* * *

Nathan was watching a basketball game as Haley made dinner in the kitchen. He could hear his wife cluttering around, humming softly as she cooked. Usually when Nathan watched basketball he was so absorbed into the sport that he did not notice anything around him. Today, however, Nathan was not only distracted by the noise from the kitchen but even more so by thoughts of the dimpled green-eyed beauty that he had promised to no longer think about. Truth was, despite his best efforts, Nathan could not get Brooke Davis out of his mind. He went to bed thinking about her and woke up thinking about her. Just this morning, he had felt Haley snuggle up closer to him, seeking the feeling of his arms around her. Like the good husband he had sworn he would be, he had obliged. His mind, however, had been on a different morning with a different girl whose body had seemed to fit against him so much more naturally. After a few minutes of cuddling Haley had moved away and Nathan had inwardly sighed in relief.

Nathan was doing his best to save this marriage and in the last few days he could see that his efforts were paying off. Haley was smiling a lot more and so was he. But sometimes he would kiss her without putting his heart into it and she would move away from his lips, her eyes looking quizzically at him as if she could tell. He would smile reassuringly, brush his lips with hers and wonder whether this is what the rest of their lives would be like. Two people who were comfortable with each other, who loved each other but had long lost that passion for one another. Nathan was becoming more and more convinced as the days went on that him and Haley were fighting a losing battle and she too was soon going to figure it out.

For now, Nathan had promised two of the most important women to him that he would give it his all so when his wife called him for dinner, he put on a smile and joined her in the kitchen.

_Can't seem to hold you like I want to_

_So I can feel you in my arms_

_Nobody's gonna come and save you_

_we've pulled too many false alarms _

_We're going down_

_And you can feel it too_

_We're going down_

_And you know that we are doomed_

_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room_

* * *


	18. For Better or for Worse

**A/N**: I realized that I didn't give credit to John Mayer for his lyrics in the last chapter. Obviously they don't belong to me.

Song Credit in this chapter Feist - _My Moon, My Man_

_

* * *

__Heart on my sleeve_

_Not where it should be_

There was only one thing that Nathan had ever obsessed about in his life and that was basketball. For as long as he could remember, Nathan's life had been dictated by the sport. It ruled his thoughts, could make him soar to unimaginable highs and just as easily break him. Haley had taught Nathan how to balance his life; to not let basketball control him. He had fallen in love quickly and hard. She, like basketball, could break him but he had never let his relationship with her control every being of who he was. There was a large part of him that was still ruled by basketball that Haley couldn't have. This part had grown inadvertently when Haley had left to go on tour. It hadn't been a conscious decision but after losing himself following Haley's departure, Nathan had made a choice to preserve a little bit of his heart, to not let himself get too wrapped in her, should she decide to leave again. After they got married the second time, there had been a gap between them that hadn't been there the first time. Like a small crack on a heavy and sturdy ceramic bowl. Unnoticeable and harmless. The crack had kept growing though, beginning with the loss of their child, to the point that they had noticed. They had put some adhesive tape on the crack and prayed that it wouldn't grow.

Now Nathan found himself _almost _obsessing about something other than basketball and it certainly was not his wife. Brooke Davis had somehow along the way inserted herself firmly into Nathan's life and Nathan could not stop thinking about her. He replayed moments with her over and over in his head, with the last conversation that they had had especially haunting him.

"_I need to talk to you." Nathan said to the girl sitting on the rocks overlooking the beach below, hugging her knees, abandoned high heels to her side._

_Brooke looked up at him obviously startled. "Nathan, what are you doing here?"_

"_I heard you tell Lucas that you needed some time before dinner and I just had a feeling that you would come here."_

_Brooke was surprised that he'd thought of this place. Even Peyton and Lucas would probably not think to find her upon this rock. It was far away from the main beach, requiring a slight climb to get up to it. She knew Nathan knew of it because he had found her crying here back in the day when they were just acquaintances, when Lucas had first broken her heart. What surprised Brooke was that Nathan had remembered that afternoon enough to think of looking for her here. "So what? Are you stalking me now? I told you to stay away from me."_

_Failing to get perturbed by her angry words, Nathan sat himself down beside Brooke earning a glare from the brunette. "I know you are mad at me and you have every right to be but you can't keep avoiding me. You are leaving soon and I miss my best friend."_

_Butterflies flared up in Brooke's stomach. "You don't qualify for that title anymore." _

_She was staring straight ahead, her mouth set in a determined line and Nathan began to get the impression that there was more to her anger than his careless words. She had after all been avoiding him before he had uttered them and besides she knew him enough by now to know that he hadn't meant them._

_Moving closer, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "What's going on Brooke? I am getting the idea that there is more to you not talking to me than the fact that I am an idiot."_

_Shivers down her spine, Brooke moved slightly so that Nathan's hand fell of her shoulder. He looked hurt and confused and Brooke felt like she had to get away. Getting up quickly, she moved even further away from him. "Nathan you need to stop. Stop calling me. Stop following me. As I said before, I don't want you to talk to me anymore. Just accept it."_

"_I can't." He said after he had gotten up as well. She was standing far away from him and hating the distance between them, he moved closer. She was at the edge of the rock and therefore couldn't move further backwards so she stayed rooted to her spot, watching him warily. _

"_Brooke, in the past few months you have been a really good friend to me. And I know you and I know there is more going on here than you are letting on. So be mad at me if you want, but please let me help you through whatever this is."_

_Nathan's voice was filled with sincere concern and wanting nothing more than to abandon her promise to Haley and her promises to herself and to just leap into his arms and kiss him senseless, Brooke felt frustrated tears begin to well up in her eyes. Fighting to keep her voice steady she said, "I just think that it's better if we stay away from each other. You should be concentrating on Haley and I just need to concentrate on myself and get ready to go to L.A."_

_After she finished speaking, Brooke realized that she had said the wrong thing because Nathan stared at her and stated "Haley asked you to stay away from me."_

_It suddenly all made sense to Nathan. Brooke's sudden avoidance and the brief look of relief that had crossed Haley's face when he had sullenly told her that Brooke wasn't talking to him anymore. _

_He didn't really need further confirmation of his statement but he found it in the quick vigorous head shake of the girl standing across from him. "No, that's not it-"_

"_Stop lying Brooke," he interrupted. "How could Haley do this?"_

_Knowing she was caught, Brooke admitted defeat. "She just wants things to go back to the way that they were and you spending all your free time with me wasn't helping anything."_

"_Then she should have come to me, not you." Nathan said hotly. _

_Feeling the same way, Brooke stayed silent. _

_Nathan fixed his anger on her. "And you said "yes" without giving me a say. I didn't know that I was so easy to give up."_

_Brooke's eyes widened in surprise. How could he honestly think that it had been easy? "You are right, you are an idiot. You don't think that this has been the hardest thing that I have ever had to?" she shouted at him. "I did it for you and Haley. Because you both deserve to be happy and if that meant that I had to stay away from you for a while, then that was worth it."_

_She was shaking, her face flushed with anger and tears pooling in her eyes. Nathan closed the remaining distance between them and put both his hands on her shoulders, locking her in place so she didn't have the choice to bolt. _

"_I'm sorry Brooke. It's not really you I'm mad at."_

_Brooke shook her head. "Don't be mad at Haley Nathan. That will defeat the whole purpose of me staying away from you. Maybe she should have come to you once she felt that you were slipping away but I think that she chose me because she knew I'd understand."_

"_This isn't right though Brooke," Nathan argued. "You and me not talking hasn't made anything better."_

_One lone tear made its way down Brooke's cheek. "It will though. Just give it time."_

_Nathan gently brushed away the tear and Brooke fought the urge to shiver. "Then why are you crying?"_

_It was a loaded question. The truth would destroy everything that she had been trying to preserve. Brooke was tired of lying, however, so she chose an edited version of the truth. "My emotions are just out of control lately. I mean it's the end of an era, we graduated today Nathan."_

_Nathan studied Brooke. "What now? I avoid you until you leave and then we never talk again."_

_Brooke struggled to smile reassuringly. "No, you avoid me until I leave. You go back to your wife and you treat her the best way you know how. And when I come back to Tree Hill a little while from now, you and I can be friends again."_

_Nathan looked past her brave smile and saw the sadness in her eyes. It tugged at his heart strings and he dropped his hands from her shoulders enveloping her with his arms. She went willingly, burrowing her head in his chest. When she began to step away, he grabbed her hand. Blue locked on green and held the stare. Brooke wet her lips and Nathan followed the movement of her tongue. He dipped his head slightly and Brooke's heart skipped a beat. She knew what was happening, wanted to stop it but felt powerless to. Instead of kissing her like she had been expecting, Nathan leaned his forehead against hers and let out a hoarse whisper "What am I doing?"_

_Her heart beating wildly, Brooke still could not speak._

"_Brooke, I almost kissed you." He whispered again, as if it was a confession. "I'm married and I swore I would never be that guy."_

_Hearing the confusion in his voice and unable to regulate her breathing with him still so close, Brooke broke the contact of their foreheads but having no room to move, remained quite close. _

"_See this is why we need to stay away from each other. I know that you love Haley, you know that too and I love Lucas but we're letting ourselves become the people we used to be before we met them and we can't keep doing this."_

_Nathan felt a sharp jab of pain. "You love Lucas?"_

_Brooke nodded. She was back to the lying but given what had just almost happened with her and Nathan, she figured it was better than the almost truth that she had given him earlier. "Yeah, just like you love Haley."_

"_Right. Just like I love Haley," Nathan reiterated though the words sounded hollow to his own ears. "So this is it, no more you and me?" The thought left him feeling a little panicked but he now felt it was necessary. He hadn't realized how deep he was in with Brooke until a few minutes ago when he had almost kissed her but that almost kiss and her reminder of the love that they both had for other people was enough to convince him that she had been right; they needed to stay away from each other. _

_Brooke smiled sadly wondering just when her and Nathan had become a we, an us. She couldn't deny it though; for a while she hadn't thought of herself without Nathan. Ever since the tape had come out, before she had pushed him away, it had been her and Nathan. Her and him against the world. Now it was just her, Lucas by her side but nothing more as a friend and then there was Haley and Nathan. They were the us, the we. "No more you and me."_

_They stood there facing each other for a while, feeling like there was nothing left to say though there was so much more that they wanted to. Finally Brooke broke the stare and began to walk around him._

_He grabbed her arm as she walked away. "Brooke," he choked on her name and Brooke bit down on her lip. They were back on dangerous territory. The look in his eyes was so intense that Brooke had to look away. If she had been a weaker person, she would have been all over him in that instance. Instead Brooke said "Promise you will be good to Haley."_

_At that point, Nathan would have given Brooke anything. "Promise."_

_Brooke gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and whispered "I'll miss you Nathan Scott."_

_Before Nathan had time to react, she was walking away from him, high heels in hand leaving a solitary Nathan on the rocks who looked as small and alone as he felt._

_Twenty minutes later he showed up at Karen's for the graduation dinner and put on the best show he could._

Nathan had been reliving this last conversation for so long and so many times that he just had to close his eyes to picture how Brooke had looked at any given moment of the conversation.

One thing that deeply troubled Nathan about his last encounter with Brooke was the fact that he had almost kissed her. Nathan had cheated on Peyton many times but he had never been in love with Peyton. Even then, the cheating had been when he was failing at basketball and had at least had a couple of drinks. With Haley, Nathan had never even come close. Drunk or not. Sure there were times he had found other girls attractive but he had never felt the desire to be with anyone else. Until Brooke. With Brooke it had felt so natural and so right that Nathan had almost forgotten who he was and what he was: married. Even now, having not talked to Brooke in weeks, it was kissing his wife that so often felt like it was a betrayal.

The other thing that was bothering Nathan was that in their conversation, Brooke had said that she was in love with Lucas. Earlier that morning, however, a distracted Lucas had confessed that Brooke had turned him down. When Nathan had asked Lucas if he knew the reason, his voice filled with genuine surprise, Lucas had fixed his eyes on his brother. "You tell me."

It was a statement filled with accusation and Nathan had never been more happy to be interrupted by his cell phone than at that minute. He had to rush off to work and was relieved to leave behind Lucas' examining glare. Although Nathan was sure that there was no way that Brooke would have told Lucas about him almost kissing her, Lucas' statement made Nathan uncomfortable.

After a long day which had left him exhausted, all Nathan wanted to do was sit on the couch and wind down. He, however, had to get ready to go this anonymous party that almost all seniors had been invited to attend as the "Last Hurray!" before everyone left town. No one knew who was throwing it but anyone who was anyone was attending. A part of Nathan wanted to avoid the whole thing. He didn't want to see Lucas and have to finish the conversation they had started at the River Court and he didn't want to make small talk about future plans when his seemed bleak. Most of all, he didn't think he could handle seeing Brooke and not be able to talk to her. On the other hand, Nathan knew this was the last chance that everyone would have to be together. And though he would rather not admit it, he was going to miss high school. Besides, it would be his last chance to see Brooke before she took off for L.A. And seeing her and not talking to her was probably better than not seeing her at all.

Nathan took an extra long time getting ready. He just had a feeling that nothing was going to be the same after tonight. He wasn't sure exactly what was going to be different or whether it would be better or worse but he wanted to be ready, for better or for worse.


	19. Can't Run, Can't Hide

**A/N**: Once again my sincere appreciation to anyone who is still reading. The end is really near now. This is the second to last chapter.

* * *

Alcohol, loud music, lots of drunken teenagers everywhere. It had been a while since Brooke had been to a party like that, the last one having ended with a black eye courtesy of Peyton Sawyer, but as she looked around the chaos happening around her, Brooke found that she had almost missed this. Sure she was no longer the same girl who got drunk every weekend and slept with strangers and this was no longer her scene but sipping on vodka and sprite surrounded by her school mates, Brooke felt young again and it felt good. Senior year had been filled with so much heartbreak and drama that Brooke felt like for most of it, she had been walking around with a huge weight on her shoulders. While she would be soon leaving Tree Hill heartbreak behind, Brooke had a feeling that life wasn't going to get any easier. Graduating came with responsibilities and Brooke knew that the years of careless fun were behind her now. Taking a large gulp of her very strong drink that was beginning to make its way into her veins, Brooke smiled and welcomed the buzz; it was time to be careless again, just for one more night. Lucas beside her watched her with careful eyes. Noticing the concern, she laughed, "Come on Lucas. Don't you want to get drunk and remember that you are seventeen?"

"Not really." Getting drunk and out of control had never been his thing.

Brooke shrugged easily and gulped down her rest of her drink. Leaning in, she whispered in his ear. "You are no fun." And then she skipped off presumably to find another drink.

Lucas watched her go and shook his head. He had no intention of getting drunk tonight but she made it seem so enticing. He knew though that alcohol and Brooke were dangerous territory and after she had made it painfully clear that she was not willing to rekindle any sort of romance with him, the last thing that Lucas wanted to do was get drunk and embarrass himself in front of her further.

Looking around he spotted Nathan and Haley and waved them over.

"Hey buddy," he addressed his best-friend. "Surprised to see you here."

"Why? Didn't you know? Drunken orgies are suddenly my thing."

Lucas chuckled and Haley joined in. "No. Nathan wanted to come, thought that we should be young and fun again."

"You? Young and fun?" Lucas joked causing Haley to punch him in the arm. "Hey," he protested looking at his brother for help only to find Nathan looking around, completely oblivious to the conversation happening around him.

Lucas frowned at his brother. "Nathan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Nathan snapped back to attention and gave a quick shake of the head. "Can we talk later? I need a drink."

"You are drinking?" There was a shade of disappointment in Haley's question.

Feeling tense with his brother and wife staring at him, Nathan felt an even stronger yearning for that drink. "It's a party Haley. Relax." To ease the edge in his voice, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back. Want anything?"

"I'm okay."

Nathan looked at Lucas who shook his head.

"Okay, I'll be back."

After he had left, Haley turned to Lucas. "Okay, did he seem weird to you?"

Lucas forced a smile. "A little but I'm sure it's nothing." In truth, Lucas wasn't so sure that it was nothing. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what had had Nathan acting so strange for the past few weeks but for everyone's sake; Lucas hoped that he was wrong.

* * *

"Mighty Mouth!" Brooke squealed from her position in the kitchen to Mouth standing across the room. Even over the loud music, her voice could be heard clearly and people made way for her as she walked over to him, stumbling a little as she did so.

"Hey Brooke," he greeted warmly, laughing inwardly at the nickname. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah. Where have you been all my life? You haven't been answering my calls and Skillz said you left town."

Mouth smiled mischievously. "I might have."

Brooke pouted. "And you didn't tell me? Mouth, you are like the only friend I have left. You can't just abandon me without telling me."

Mouth couldn't help but laugh at her dramatics. He was surprised to see that she was a little drunk but she looked relaxed and happy that Mouth couldn't fault her. He'd never been the type to judge her anyway, knowing that she did everything for a reason and had the biggest heart of anyone he knew. "Well I had a good reason. I brought back something that I think you are going to like."

Green eyes widened like saucers. "Really? What is it?"

"I can't tell you but you'll see soon enough."

"Mouth," she whined. "Tell me."

He shook his head, enjoying her frustrated curiosity. He was sure he would break soon if she kept whining and pouting like that, but he had given his word that he wouldn't let out the secret so he had to try and hold strong for as long as he could. Luckily he didn't have to maintain his silence for long for a few minute later, a voice behind Brooke said, "Miss me bitch?"

Brooke turned sharply around and jumped into the owner of the question's arms. "Rachel! What are you doing here?"

The vixen redhead smirked, "It's my party slut. You are lucky I invited you."

Too excited to even reply with an insult, Brooke hugged Rachel again. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

Dropping the attitude, Rachel let herself relax into the hug. "It's good to see you too," she replied honestly.

They stayed in the hug for a minute then as if suddenly realizing what they were doing broke apart laughing embarrassedly.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I actually missed your skanky ass." Brooke said, laughter still in her voice.

"Well I see your ass hasn't grown any smaller since I've been gone." Rachel replied without missing a beat.

And just like that they were back at it again, the good natured ribbing that masked the true bond of friendship that they shared. Mouth watched his two favourite girls and realizing that this may be the last time they were together like this again, hurried to take his camera out of his back pocket. "Say cheese," he instructed.

Brooke grabbed Rachel and put her arm around her. "Come here you filthy whore," she said laughing, the liquid sloshing out of her red cup.

Rachel grabbed the cup out of Brooke's hand and downing it quickly smiled triumphantly at Brooke who stuck her tongue out at her. And that was the moment that Mouth got on camera: a smirking Rachel and a teasing Brooke. Looking at the picture later, Brooke was to realize that Rachel had become her new girl best-friend somewhere between losing Peyton and losing Haley.

* * *

Nathan had been at the party now for a few hours and though he had spotted Brooke many times and wanted to go over to her, he had maintained a respectful distance, sticking close to Haley instead. Right now though, he was a few drinks in, Haley was nowhere to be found and he was mesmerized by the sight of Brooke on the small dance floor created in the living room, her hips shaking from side to side as her and Rachel undoubtedly drove every guy around crazy. It was taking all of Nathan's self control not to go over to her and take her in his arms but when she broke away from Rachel and headed upstairs after a few dances, Nathan no longer had the self-control not to follow her a couple of minutes later. He found her in what he assumed was the master bedroom due to the size and the balcony where she was currently standing.

"Hey," he said softly as he approached her so as not to scare her.

She smiled at him then shook her head chuckling slightly. "And we'd been doing so well."

He laughed too, immediately knowing what she was talking about. "I know but this could be the last time I see you for a while and I just had to talk to you."

She watched him and leaned in whispering. "Want to know a secret?"

He nodded, intrigued by the shine in her eyes.

"I saw you watching me. I wanted you to follow me."

He laughed at her conspiring tone. "You knew I would."

She shook her head again, moving away from him.

"What?" Nathan asked.

Brooke was looking below now and not looking up at him, she answered. "This is probably a bad idea. I'm a bit drunk and you are a bit dangerous."

"I'm a bit drunk too. And you are more than just a bit dangerous." His voice was low and husky and this time she did look up at him.

Looking into his deep blue orbs, she felt reckless and like a moth to a flame drew closer to him. He opened up his arms and she burrowed her head into his chest. She knew it was wrong, so wrong, but he smelled so good and being against his solid chest feeling the quickening of his heart as he ran his fingers through her hair, felt so right, so right that she stayed there even as she heard movement in the room.

There was suddenly a loud cough which was enough to interrupt the moment and as she and Nathan broke apart, they were met with the shocked faces of Peyton and Lucas.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked. His voice was steady and calm but the anger in it was so clear, so palpable that Peyton put a hand on him as if to restrain him.

Neither Brooke nor Nathan spoke as they faced Lucas and Peyton as if facing a firing squad. They could have easily explained it away; they hadn't been doing much anyway that Lucas or Peyton given what they had done to Brooke could really judge them for. They could have said it was a goodbye hug or a comfort hug or any other sort of friend like explanation they could come up with but the more they stayed silent, the more it became obvious that the hug was not being misinterpreted by the two that had stumbled upon them, suspicions already in their mind.

"What are you doing?" the anger seemed to be growing but this time Lucas was directing his question solely at Nathan. "Your wife is downstairs and you are hiding up here with Brooke."

Nathan remained silent so Brooke said in a small voice, "Lucas it's not what it looks like."

Lucas turned to look at her, his anger quickly switching targets. "You led me along for months Brooke and what, this whole time you have been sleeping with my brother. I guess not much has changed since you made that tape with him, once a whore, always a whore."

Brooke gasped and even Peyton looked shocked. Seemingly coming out of his daze, Nathan took a menacing step forward. "You have no right to talk to her like that."

"Oh that's rich. You are defending her? I'm sure Haley would love to see this." Lucas continued unabated.

Once again, Peyton tried to step in. "Lucas." He pushed her hand away and continued on his tirade.

"God Brooke, I thought I was in love with you and this whole time you have been sleeping with my brother." His voice cracked and he looked more broken than angry now.

Tears filled Brooke's eyes. She had never meant for things to turn out like this but as she looked from Nathan to Lucas to Peyton, she realized that things had gotten too complicated to turn around. She wanted to punch Lucas for speaking to her like that, given all the heartache he had caused her but deciding things were already so bad, she didn't need to make them worse, she addressed him in the most even voice she could muster. "You are not in love with me Lucas. I'm not sure you even know what love is. You move back and forth from Peyton and me not taking time to figure out what you want, who you want. You don't love me because your whole approach to love is selfish. You don't love me because you have never once thought of what your declarations of love do to me." She was shaking by the time she was done talking and out of the corner of her teary eye, she noticed Nathan make a move to touch her before his hand dropped limply to the side. The gesture brought fresh tears to her eyes and her shoulders sagged. It was a reminder that he was so not hers, still so married, no matter what damage had just been done by their reckless embrace.

Lucas seemed to be stunned silent as his eyes moved back and forth between Brooke and Nathan. He noticed Nathan's limp hand, Brooke's sagging shoulders and breathed out, "Unbelievable. You are in love with him?"

Most of the time it was impossible to read Brooke if she didn't want you to but sometimes if you caught her off guard, her feelings were written clearly on her face. Like right then. She didn't say anything but she didn't need to. Her face confirmed it all: she was in love with Nathan Scott.

Lucas looked absolutely defeated and Peyton did not seem all that surprised. And Nathan, Brooke brought her eyes up hesitantly to meet his but he wouldn't meet hers. "I have to go," he mumbled and took off as quick as lightning.

Brooke suddenly felt sick and moving quickly away from Lucas and Peyton ran into the bathroom and promptly threw up. Peyton came in a few minutes later and without saying a word, held Brooke's hair in one hand while rubbing Brooke's back with the other.

As Brooke heaved into the porcelain bowl, she remembered how many times she had been in this position: drunk and sick at a party as Peyton took care of her. She was aware that a lot of relationships had been damaged tonight but she knew that this was the beginning of hers and Peyton's new rebuilding. It didn't seem that she could escape all of her mistakes in Tree Hill but tomorrow she would be gone, hopefully to begin a new life. And Peyton, after everything, in spite of everything, would be there too.


	20. If She Wants Me

**A/N**: I know that this chapter is really long but it's the last one so there was a lot I needed to tie up.

Thanks for reading!!

Song Credit: _If She Wants Me_ – Belle and Sebastian

* * *

_I said goodbye to someone that I love.  
It's not just me, I tell you it's the both of us.  
And it was hard,  
Like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy._

The ride home from the party was quiet for Haley and Nathan. Haley was driving, humming softly along with the radio as Nathan tried to process everything that had gone on tonight. He kept running over Lucas's question to Brooke.

"_You are in love with him?"_

She hadn't said "yes" and she hadn't said "no" either but her face had said it all. Nathan had rushed out of there as soon as it hit him. Brooke was in love with him and Haley was downstairs waiting. As he hurried down the stairs, his heart was pounding and he felt a desperate need to see Haley. If he saw her, when he saw her, then everything would make sense again. Who he was, whom he loved, he just needed to see her and everything he had fought for would be reaffirmed.

They had been driving for five minutes now though and everything was still jumbled.

Haley was driving him to their home but all he could think of was the girl he had left behind.

He must have been staring at Haley because suddenly she took her eyes off the road making contact with his and startling him out of his thoughts. She smiled softly. "You okay?"

Her voice was kind and she was looking at him with a sweet bemused smile. She looked beautiful and at peace, like the girl he had fallen in love with at 16. Nathan had to look away.

Haley averted her eyes back to the road as she turned into their driveway. Turning off the ignition, she looked back at her husband who was looking out the window. "Hey. What's going on? You've been acting weird all night."

"What happened to us?"

It could have just been a question. It could have meant so many things but Haley heard the sadness and defeat behind the words and she knew that this was the end of her and Nathan.

Minutes passed before she spoke. A lump was forming in her throat and she was trying to think of something to say. She considered playing coy, pretending that she didn't understand what Nathan was asking. They'd almost ended so many times that it was hard to imagine that it was really happening now: in her car after a party. She chanced a quick glance at Nathan and he was still looking out the window but even from just his side profile, he looked completely miserable and Haley knew she couldn't pretend anymore, couldn't buy them any more time.

"I don't know. I guess we grew up, we changed. We are not the same people who fell in love with each other." Her voice cracked a little, revealing her pain.

"I did this though. Our ending, it started with Dante. You couldn't look at me after that."

Haley shook her head. "I wish I could blame all this on you Nathan but I can't. When I went on tour, I don't think you fully forgave me for that." She paused but Nathan didn't interject as he found that although he had never voiced it, he actually agreed.

"And then all the stuff with Dante," Haley continued. "We could have pulled together but we didn't. I pushed you away and you…" She trailed off.

Nathan finally looked at her. "I tried Haley." His eyes were a stormy blue, like the sky before it rains.

"I know." Haley hesitated. She did not want to start a fight by bringing up what had been a sore spot for her and Nathan lately but if this was really the end for her and Nathan, she needed to have everything out in the open. "I know you tried Nathan but you also turned to Brooke."

Nathan tensed. "This isn't about Brooke. It's about you and me."

"But you have feelings for her." Saying it out loud made it real and tears sprung to Haley's eyes. "You have feelings for her," she repeated. "I don't know when or why it started or who to blame. All I know is that whatever this thing between Brooke and you is, it's real."

"Haley," Nathan said grabbing her hand. "I need you to know, this isn't about Brooke. Maybe I have feelings for her but I married you, I love you. It's just." He stopped not knowing how to continue since he hadn't figured out what exactly was going on himself.

"It's just that things got so hard with us and we keep trying but it's just not working." Haley completed Nathan's sentence.

"Yeah," he agreed, letting go of her hand and leaning against the headrest.

There was silence in the car as Haley and Nathan both struggled with the realization that they had both basically admitted that their marriage was really, finally over. It was Haley who after some time broke the silence.

Leaning towards her husband, she ran a hand over his cheek and placed a light kiss on his lips. "I love you Nathan. Always have, always will." A tear fell out of her eye landing on his cheek and he caught her hand and pressed it against the wet trail that it had left behind.

"I love you too Haley." His voice was gruff with emotion.

She nodded and unclasped her hand from him, using it to wipe away a few more tears that had fallen. "I know. And I know that you don't want to hurt me but I need to know, are you in love with Brooke?"

"What?" Nathan sputtered. "Haley,"

"Please, I need you to be honest with me, with yourself Nathan. Are you in love with her?"

Nathan thought back to the balcony at the party: his brother's question and Brooke's face. He now knew that he had run out of there so quickly because the first emotion that had come to him at the revelation that Brooke was in love with him had not been shock or panic but rather joy. The former had simply kicked in when he met Lucas' eyes and remembered Haley.

"Yes." It was just a whisper but it had the effect of an earthquake. Nathan's admission had just destroyed the last foundation they were standing on and there was no going back.

"I'm sorry Haley."

Haley nodded. "I know. I'm sorry too."

She leaned her head against Nathan's shoulder as quiet tears filled the car. She was crying for all they had lost: their youthful innocence, their unborn child and now their marriage.

Nathan placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled her close. There was nothing left to say.

* * *

When Nathan woke up it was almost light out and he was still in the car. There was a kink in his neck from how he had slept but no Haley. Figuring she had gone inside, Nathan stretched out and headed into the house. Once inside Nathan considered just crashing on the couch but decided to check on Haley first to make sure that she was okay. He was surprised to see the bed was still made but coming closer he found a note addressed to him.

_Dear Nathan,_

_I went to sleep at Lucas'. I figured it would be better if we didn't see each other for a while. I just think it would be too hard. _

_I want you to be happy and don't want to stand in your way so you do what you need to do. If I'm honest with myself I know that this has been coming for a while. Still it hurts and I think I need some time away from this all. I am sitting here at 3 in the morning and thinking of going back to New York. I know it sounds crazy but a few months ago Chris offered me another chance to go on tour with him. I turned him down of course because I was pregnant but he promised that the spot would always be open for me. I know it's crazy and not me but music has always had the ability to make me feel like I could do anything, to be spontaneous. _

_I just want to remember what it feels like to be happy again. _

_I hope that you can too._

_Love,_

_Haley_

Haley's wedding ring was next to the note and Nathan picked it up and pressed it against his heart. He looked to the door half expecting her to walk in like she had the last time he'd found her ring. There was no one there though and Nathan chuckled to himself sadly. Rereading the note Nathan knew that there was only one thing to do. One chapter of his life had just ended but he had a chance to start something new. Stuffing the note and the ring into his pocket, Nathan headed towards the door.

* * *

_If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy.  
They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes.  
On second thoughts, I'd rather hang around and be there with my best friend,  
If she wants me_

"What are you doing here?" were the first words Brooke uttered when she opened the door to Nathan Scott standing on her steps.

"I had to see you."

"So you decided to pound on my door at 5 o'clock in the morning. You are lucky you didn't wake up Rachel," Brooke said icily.

Nathan blinked, first at the coldness of her voice then again when he realized what she had just said. "Rachel? She's back to stay?"

"Yup," came the one word answer. "Now are you going to tell me what you are doing here?" Inside Brooke was shaking. Nathan had been the last person she had expecting to see when she opened the door. She had been expecting an angry Lucas or even a concerned Peyton checking on her. Instead she had been met with the boy who had been on her mind all night causing her to be unable to sleep. Her buzz had long passed and in its place was a mild hangover made all the worse as she reran the scene on the balcony over and over in her head.

She hadn't been expecting Nathan but there he was, standing on her steps looking so intense that it scared her but excited her at the same time. She didn't know how to react so she settled for her default bitchy demeanor. It didn't seem to be working though as Nathan kept looking at her intensely.

"Me and Haley are over."

Brooke had not been expecting that either. She studied him and found he looked sad but hardly devastated. It was nothing compared to the way he had looked when he had shown up at her door claiming the same thing a month earlier. "Do you want to come in?" she offered because even though she felt a little weird since she had basically admitted to being in love with him, she figured he probably needed a friend and that was more important than any awkwardness she was feeling.

Nathan shook his head. "I didn't come here so that you could comfort me," he said as if he was reading her mind. "I came here because I needed to see you before you leave."

Brooke's breath hitched in her throat. There it was, that look again. It was the same look he had given her right before she had gone into his arms at the party.

"I had to see you," Nathan continued. "Because I need you to know that I am in love with you."

Brooke was silent for a minute and when she spoke her voice was cool and emotionless. "I think you should go."

Nathan stared at her confused. "What? Did you hear what I said? I'm in love with you."

"Nathan. Stop it." Brooke commanded, her voice firm. "I know that you must have been freaked out by what happened at the party but there was no reason for you to end things with Haley. Lucas was wrong about what he saw and how I feel. Sure I might have some feelings for you but it's just a stupid crush. And you! You are married. God, you love Haley. We just got carried away."

Nathan took a step towards Brooke. "I need you to listen to me Brooke. My marriage just ended and it sucks. It really sucks to know that I am going to be divorced at 18 and that everything that me and Haley worked so hard to make right is over. But I'm not here because I am confused or because I got carried away. I am here because somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you and although everything else is crazy right now, you are the only thing that makes sense."

"What about Haley?" Brooke asked in a small voice.

Nathan took Haley's note out of his pocket and handed it to Brooke. "Read this."

After reading it, Brooke looked up at Nathan. "You told her about me?"

Nathan nodded. "She already knew but she just wanted me to admit it out loud."

"So this," Brooke held up the note. "This is her giving us her blessing?"

Nathan nodded again. "Yeah I think so."

Brooke chewed on her lip thoughtfully then wrinkled her nose. "And she's really going on tour with the Keller?"

Nathan smiled at Brooke's obvious distaste. "Yeah I'm not the biggest fan of that guy either but if she's happy…" He shrugged.

"Then you are happy." Brooke finished. "What about you? What are you going to do?"

Nathan took another step closer to Brooke. "Depends."

As it always did when Nathan was close, Brooke's heart began to beat faster. "On what?"

"If you want me." He was so close to Brooke now that their lips were almost touching. As soon as the words were out, Brooke closed the distance and captured his lips passionately. He kissed her back with all the urgency and impatience that came with wanting to do exactly that so many times but being unable to. When they finally broke apart, Nathan had to brace his arms on the frame of the door so as not to lose his balance.

"I want you." Brooke confirmed in case the kiss hadn't made it clear.

Nathan grinned. "So when do we leave?"

Brooke lifted an eyebrow. "You are serious about this? You are just going to drop everything and come to L.A. with me?"

"I know I'm the best thing to ever happen to Tree Hill but I think this place can get on fine without me for a while."

Brooke smiled but she looked wary. "I'm serious."

"Me too. I would understand if you don't want me to come. But if you do, I will. These last few months have been really hard and with you gone, there is just nothing left for me here. You have been the only thing keeping me sane."

Brooke looked into Nathan's blue eyes and all she saw was honesty. This was her best-friend, the guy who had been her rock as everything she knew fell apart. He had taught her to trust again, and to love against the odds. "I want you to come."

"Really? You're sure? I don't know whether Tree Hill can afford to lose its King and Queen at the same time."

Brooke laughed and was thrown back to prom. Idly she wondered whether that was when she had started developing feelings for Nathan. There had been a connection then but she would never have suspected that it would turn into more. Reaching up to his head, she tugged him gently towards her and kissed him. "I love you."

Nathan kissed her back then hugged her tightly against his chest. He felt the lightest he had felt in months and he knew that everything was going to be okay. It didn't matter that he was about to head to L.A. with no job and no prospects. Nathan had spent his whole life wanting to be great at basketball but ever since his basketball career had ended, Nathan had found he didn't need it as much as he used to. He still loved it and definitely missed but there were other things now that occupied his mind: mainly shiny green eyes and teasing dimples and Nathan had a feeling that with Brooke by his side, he wouldn't be down and out for long.

As for Brooke, she smiled against Nathan's chest and let herself enjoy the feeling guilt free. So much had changed since the beginning of junior year, before Haley and Lucas had come into her, Nathan and Peyton's life. It was all a bit incestuous really, how their group had functioned, from love triangles to rectangles and everything in between. In that time Nathan had gone from being her lover to her friend to so much more. She wasn't sure where this was going and whether it would all end. All Brooke knew was that she was about to start a new chapter in her life and she couldn't think of anyone else that she would rather start it with.

* * *

The End.


End file.
